Diverging or converging to a green world? Impact of green growth measures on countries’ economic performance

Green growth has emerged in recent years to respond to environmental problems caused by climate change and the scarcity of resources. However, today’s green growth involves environmental, social and financial dimensions. In this context, many countries are currently seeking green growth for their economic development through the efficient use of their resources. This study aims to assess the impact of green growth performance on the economic development of countries. A quantitative approach was applied to a sample of 172 countries worldwide, and the formulated hypotheses were tested through multiple linear regressions estimated by the ordinary least squares method. The economic development of countries was measured by the Human Development Index (HDI) and measures the sustainability performance of countries by the Green Growth Index (GGI). The results of this study demonstrate that (i) the measures of green growth performance have a positive impact on the economic development of high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income economies, (ii) in poorer economies, less is the contribution of green growth to economic development, mainly because they neglecting the social dimension despite the numerous existing projects in these economies for greater inclusion and (iii) green economic opportunities (green investment, green trade, green employment and green innovation) do not influence green economic development in all analysed economies. Consequently, suggestions were made for policymakers from different groups of countries to increase and accelerate their sustainable green growth. Literature on economic development and green growth is still scarce, especially at the empirical level, and few studies use the 2020 GGI data. In addition, this study also uses recent rankings of world economies to categorize the economic development of countries.