How does the development of the financial industry advance renewable energy? A panel regression study of 198 countries over three decades

Abstract We investigate how the development of the financial industry connects with renewable energy. We analyze 198 countries over three decades in various model settings (fixed effects, random effects, dynamic panel). We use a wide range of proxies for the development of the financial industry and establish that in general this development has a positive impact on renewable energy capacity. Especially, the relative size of the commercial banking industry as well as of private credit and the size of the financial industry play a crucial role in advancing renewable energy investments.