IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i15p9435-d877833.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Global Evolution of Research on Sustainable Finance from 2000 to 2021: A Bibliometric Analysis on WoS Database

Author

Listed:
  • Wenbing Luo

    (School of Business, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China
    School of Accounting, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410205, China)

  • Ziyan Tian

    (School of Business, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China)

  • Shihu Zhong

    (Shanghai National Accounting Institute, Shanghai 201799, China)

  • Qinke Lyu

    (Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, 1000 GG Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Mingjun Deng

    (Big Data and Intelligent Decision Research Center, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China)

Abstract

The expanding international influence of sustainable finance has made it one of the most cutting-edge development trends in the financial field. Learning about the global evolution of research on sustainable finance can improve the understanding and evaluation of sustainable finance by scholars and practitioners. Based on the ISI Web of Science database, this paper used bibliometric methods to analyze 3786 articles related to sustainable finance published between 2000 and 2021, mastering their discipline co-occurrence, publication characteristics, partnership, influence, keyword co-occurrence, co-citations, and structural variation. The highlights of the results: socially responsible investment, climate change, corporate social responsibility, green finance, carbon credits, and renewable energy were the hotspots between 2000 and 2021; responsible investment, green bond, low-carbon transition, vulnerable countries, low-carbon investment, business model, financial development, supply chain, conventional investment dilemma, sustainable financing, environmental investment, and green credit policy were the hot research topics between 2016 and 2021; papers related to socially responsible investment were an important knowledge base for sustainable financial research between 2000 and 2021; the research topics of the articles with the strongest transformative potentials between 2016 and 2021 mainly involved green bonds, socially responsible mutual funds, ESG investors’ preferences, and the impact of COVID-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenbing Luo & Ziyan Tian & Shihu Zhong & Qinke Lyu & Mingjun Deng, 2022. "Global Evolution of Research on Sustainable Finance from 2000 to 2021: A Bibliometric Analysis on WoS Database," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-23, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:15:p:9435-:d:877833
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/15/9435/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/15/9435/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pham, Linh & Nguyen, Canh Phuc, 2021. "Asymmetric tail dependence between green bonds and other asset classes," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    2. Yang, Yuxue & Su, Xiang & Yao, Shuangliang, 2021. "Nexus between green finance, fintech, and high-quality economic development: Empirical evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    4. Lewis, Joanna I., 2010. "The evolving role of carbon finance in promoting renewable energy development in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 2875-2886, June.
    5. Joao Leitao & Joaquim Ferreira & Ernesto Santibanez‐Gonzalez, 2021. "Green bonds, sustainable development and environmental policy in the European Union carbon market," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 2077-2090, May.
    6. Pickering, Jonathan & Skovgaard, Jakob & Kim, Soyeun & Roberts, J. Timmons & Rossati, David & Stadelmann, Martin & Reich, Hendrikje, 2015. "Acting on Climate Finance Pledges: Inter-Agency Dynamics and Relationships with Aid in Contributor States," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 149-162.
    7. Liu, Wenjing & Wang, Jingsheng & Li, Chao & Chen, Baoxiong & Sun, Yufang, 2019. "Using Bibliometric Analysis to Understand the Recent Progress in Agroecosystem Services Research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 293-305.
    8. Xiutian Shi & Xiaoli Zhang & Ciwei Dong & Subin Wen, 2018. "Economic Performance and Emission Reduction of Supply Chains in Different Power Structures: Perspective of Sustainable Investment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Felipe Arias Fogliano de Souza Cunha & Erick Meira & Renato J. Orsato, 2021. "Sustainable finance and investment: Review and research agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3821-3838, December.
    10. Jingyan Fu & Artie W. Ng, 2021. "Scaling up Renewable Energy Assets: Issuing Green Bond via Structured Public-Private Collaboration for Managing Risk in an Emerging Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, May.
    11. Arno Riedl & Paul Smeets, 2017. "Why Do Investors Hold Socially Responsible Mutual Funds?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(6), pages 2505-2550, December.
    12. Sharma, Gagan Deep & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Talan, Gaurav & Jain, Mansi, 2021. "Revisiting the sustainable versus conventional investment dilemma in COVID-19 times," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    13. Vincenzo D'Apice & Giovanni Ferri & Mariantonietta Intonti, 2021. "Sustainable disclosure versus ESG intensity: Is there a cross effect between holding and SRI funds?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(5), pages 1496-1510, September.
    14. Chaomei Chen, 2006. "CiteSpace II: Detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 57(3), pages 359-377, February.
    15. Luluk Widyawati, 2020. "A systematic literature review of socially responsible investment and environmental social governance metrics," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 619-637, February.
    16. Carola Betzold & Florian Weiler, 2017. "Allocation of aid for adaptation to climate change: Do vulnerable countries receive more support?," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 17-36, February.
    17. Sebastian Rathner, 2013. "The Influence of Primary Study Characteristics on the Performance Differential Between Socially Responsible and Conventional Investment Funds: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 349-363, December.
    18. Yi Zhou & Liyu Chen, 2020. "Twenty-Year Span of Global Coronavirus Research Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-12, April.
    19. Mark Herrera & David C Roberts & Natali Gulbahce, 2010. "Mapping the Evolution of Scientific Fields," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(5), pages 1-6, May.
    20. Zhang, Dayong & Zhang, Zhiwei & Managi, Shunsuke, 2019. "A bibliometric analysis on green finance: Current status, development, and future directions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 425-430.
    21. Jonathan Pickering & Frank Jotzo & Peter J. Wood, 2015. "Sharing the Global Climate Finance Effort Fairly with Limited Coordination," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(4), pages 39-62, November.
    22. Juan Camilo Mejia-Escobar & Juan David González-Ruiz & Eduardo Duque-Grisales, 2020. "Sustainable Financial Products in the Latin America Banking Industry: Current Status and Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    23. Riikka Sievänen & Hannu Rita & Bert Scholtens, 2013. "The Drivers of Responsible Investment: The Case of European Pension Funds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 137-151, September.
    24. Jean-Francois Mercure & Florian Knobloch & Hector Pollitt & Leonidas Paroussos & S. Serban Scrieciu & Richard Lewney, 2019. "Modelling innovation and the macroeconomics of low-carbon transitions: theory, perspectives and practical use," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(8), pages 1019-1037, September.
    25. Deepal Doshi & Matthias Garschagen, 2020. "Understanding Adaptation Finance Allocation: Which Factors Enable or Constrain Vulnerable Countries to Access Funding?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-18, May.
    26. Weiler, Florian & Klöck, Carola & Dornan, Matthew, 2018. "Vulnerability, good governance, or donor interests? The allocation of aid for climate change adaptation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 65-77.
    27. Ole Ellegaard & Johan A. Wallin, 2015. "The bibliometric analysis of scholarly production: How great is the impact?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 1809-1831, December.
    28. An, Simin & Li, Bo & Song, Dongping & Chen, Xue, 2021. "Green credit financing versus trade credit financing in a supply chain with carbon emission limits," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 292(1), pages 125-142.
    29. Pham, Linh, 2021. "Frequency connectedness and cross-quantile dependence between green bond and green equity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    30. Reboredo, Juan C. & Ugolini, Andrea, 2020. "Price connectedness between green bond and financial markets," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 25-38.
    31. M.J. Cobo & A.G. López-Herrera & E. Herrera-Viedma & F. Herrera, 2011. "Science mapping software tools: Review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(7), pages 1382-1402, July.
    32. Andrew Heshedahl Sudmant & Andy Gouldson & Sarah Colenbrander & Rory Sullivan & Faye McAnulla & Niall Kerr, 2017. "Understanding the case for low-carbon investment through bottom-up assessments of city-scale opportunities," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 299-313, April.
    33. Jun Li & Michel Colombier, 2011. "Economic instruments for mitigating carbon emissions: scaling up carbon finance in China’s buildings sector," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 567-591, August.
    34. Fei Zou & Yanju Zhou & Caihua Yuan, 2020. "The Impact of Retailers’ Low-Carbon Investment on the Supply Chain under Carbon Tax and Carbon Trading Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-27, April.
    35. Monasterolo, Irene & Raberto, Marco, 2019. "The impact of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies on the low-carbon transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 355-370.
    36. Vasileiou, Efi & Georgantzis, Nikolaos & Attanasi, Giuseppe & Llerena, Patrick, 2022. "Green innovation and financial performance: A study on Italian firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(6).
    37. D’Orazio, Paola & Popoyan, Lilit, 2019. "Fostering green investments and tackling climate-related financial risks: Which role for macroprudential policies?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 25-37.
    38. Jing Zhang & Xueming Li & Tongliga Bao & Zhenghai Li & Chong Liu & Yuan Xu, 2021. "Linking Demographic Factors, Land Use, Ecosystem Services, and Human Well-Being: Insights from an Sandy Landscape, Uxin in Inner Mongolia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    39. Yanping Cheng & Yunjuan Kuang & Xiutian Shi & Ciwei Dong, 2018. "Sustainable Investment in a Supply Chain in the Big Data Era: An Information Updating Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    40. Xingming Ma & Lifeng Zhang & Jingqiu Wang & Yanping Luo, 2019. "Knowledge Domain and Emerging Trends on Echinococcosis Research: A Scientometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, March.
    41. Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Farid, Saqib & Ferrer, Román & Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain, 2021. "Comparative efficiency of green and conventional bonds pre- and during COVID-19: An asymmetric multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    42. Yingling Shi & Xinping Liu, 2019. "Research on the Literature of Green Building Based on the Web of Science: A Scientometric Analysis in CiteSpace (2002–2018)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-22, July.
    43. Yingting Yi & Jiangshui Luo & Michael Wübbenhorst, 2020. "Research on political instability, uncertainty and risk during 1953–2019: a scientometric review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(2), pages 1051-1076, May.
    44. William W. Hood & Concepción S. Wilson, 2001. "The Literature of Bibliometrics, Scientometrics, and Informetrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 52(2), pages 291-314, October.
    45. Jamel Boukhatem & Zied Ftiti & Jean Michel Sahut, 2021. "Bond market and macroeconomic stability in East Asia: a nonlinear causality analysis," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 297(1), pages 53-76, February.
    46. Chengliang Liu & Qinchang Gui, 2016. "Mapping intellectual structures and dynamics of transport geography research: a scientometric overview from 1982 to 2014," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(1), pages 159-184, October.
    47. Chaomei Chen, 2012. "Predictive effects of structural variation on citation counts," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(3), pages 431-449, March.
    48. Purdon, Mark, 2015. "Opening the Black Box of Carbon Finance “Additionality”: The Political Economy of Carbon Finance Effectiveness across Tanzania, Uganda, and Moldova," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 462-478.
    49. Ari, Ibrahim & Koc, Muammer, 2021. "Philanthropic-crowdfunding-partnership: A proof-of-concept study for sustainable financing in low-carbon energy transitions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    50. Maria Carolina Rezende de Carvalho Ferreira & Vinicius Amorim Sobreiro & Herbert Kimura & Flavio Luiz de Moraes Barboza, 2016. "A systematic review of literature about finance and sustainability," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 112-147, April.
    51. Andrea Chegut & Hans Schenk & Bert Scholtens, 2011. "Assessing SRI fund performance research: Best practices in empirical analysis," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 77-94, March/Apr.
    52. Chaomei Chen, 2012. "Predictive effects of structural variation on citation counts," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(3), pages 431-449, March.
    53. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Li, Yong-Yi, 2021. "Oil price shocks, geopolitical risks, and green bond market dynamics," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    54. Carla Martínez-Climent & Ricardo Costa-Climent & Pejvak Oghazi, 2019. "Sustainable Financing through Crowdfunding," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, February.
    55. R. Jayaram & Sanjeet Singh, 2020. "Sustainable finance: a systematic review," International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 21(3), pages 317-339.
    56. Reboredo, Juan C. & Ugolini, Andrea & Aiube, Fernando Antonio Lucena, 2020. "Network connectedness of green bonds and asset classes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    57. Dan Daugaard, 2020. "Emerging new themes in environmental, social and governance investing: a systematic literature review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(2), pages 1501-1530, June.
    58. Gregor Dorfleitner & Mai Nguyen, 2017. "A new approach for optimizing responsible investments dependently on the initial wealth," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(2), pages 81-98, March.
    59. Hu, Guoqiang & Wang, Xiaoqi & Wang, Yu, 2021. "Can the green credit policy stimulate green innovation in heavily polluting enterprises? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wenbing Luo & Zhongping Deng & Shihu Zhong & Mingjun Deng, 2022. "Trends, Issues and Future Directions of Urban Health Impact Assessment Research: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Juan Tang & Yudi Fang & Ziyan Tian & Yinghua Gong & Liang Yuan, 2022. "Ecosystem Services Research in Green Sustainable Science and Technology Field: Trends, Issues, and Future Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-22, December.
    3. Bhatnagar, S. & Sharma, D., 2022. "Evolution of green finance and its enablers: A bibliometric analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    4. Carè, R. & Weber, O., 2023. "How much finance is in climate finance? A bibliometric review, critiques, and future research directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Aghilasse Kashi & Mohamed Eskandar Shah, 2023. "Bibliometric Review on Sustainable Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-30, April.
    6. Felipe Arias Fogliano de Souza Cunha & Erick Meira & Renato J. Orsato, 2021. "Sustainable finance and investment: Review and research agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3821-3838, December.
    7. Mariana Reis Maria & Rosangela Ballini & Roney Fraga Souza, 2023. "Evolution of Green Finance: A Bibliometric Analysis through Complex Networks and Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-23, January.
    8. Oliyide, Johnson A. & Adekoya, Oluwasegun B. & Marie, Mohamed & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2023. "Green finance and commodities: Cross-market connectedness during different COVID-19 episodes," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    9. Mensi, Walid & Selmi, Refk & Al-Kharusi, Sami & Belghouthi, Houssem Eddine & Kang, Sang Hoon, 2024. "Connectedness between green bonds, conventional bonds, oil, heating oil, natural gas, and petrol: new evidence during bear and bull market scenarios," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Ved Dilip Beloskar & Arunima Haldar & S. V. D. Nageswara Rao, 2023. "Socially responsible investments: A retrospective review and future research agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4841-4860, November.
    11. Long, Shaobo & Tian, Hao & Li, Zixuan, 2022. "Dynamic spillovers between uncertainties and green bond markets in the US, Europe, and China: Evidence from the quantile VAR framework," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Marzhan Beisenbina & Laura Fabregat‐Aibar & Maria‐Glòria Barberà‐Mariné & Maria‐Teresa Sorrosal‐Forradellas, 2023. "The burgeoning field of sustainable investment: Past, present and future," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 649-667, April.
    13. Xu, Danyang & Hu, Yang & Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang (Greg) & Oxley, Les, 2024. "Green bonds and traditional and emerging investments: Understanding connectedness during crises," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Mirza, Nawazish & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Ha Nguyen, Thi Thu & Arfaoui, Nadia & Oliyide, Johnson A., 2023. "Are sustainable investments interdependent? The international evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    15. Zhang, Wenting & He, Xie & Hamori, Shigeyuki, 2022. "Volatility spillover and investment strategies among sustainability-related financial indexes: Evidence from the DCC-GARCH-based dynamic connectedness and DCC-GARCH t-copula approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Pham, Linh & Nguyen, Canh Phuc, 2021. "Asymmetric tail dependence between green bonds and other asset classes," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    17. Imran, Zulfiqar Ali & Ahad, Muhammad, 2023. "Safe-haven properties of green bonds for industrial sectors (GICS) in the United States: Evidence from Covid-19 pandemic and Global Financial Crisis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 408-423.
    18. Pham, Linh & Cepni, Oguzhan, 2022. "Extreme directional spillovers between investor attention and green bond markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 186-210.
    19. Lestari, Jenjang Sri & Frömmel, Michael, 2024. "Socially responsible investments: doing good while doing well in developed versus emerging markets?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Xiang, Shihui & Cao, Yanyan, 2023. "Green finance and natural resources commodities prices: Evidence from COVID-19 period," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:15:p:9435-:d:877833. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.