Financial inclusion and environmental quality: does corruption control matter?

PurposeLiterature has widely discussed the relevant role of financial development in determining atmospheric quality. However, there has not been much discussion of how financial inclusion (FIC) plays its role in environmental quality. Thus, this research aims to unveil the role of financial inclusion in determining the CO2 emissions which serve as a proxy of environmental quality. In addition, this study examines the moderating role of corruption control (CC) in the nexus of FIC-CC.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical results were based on 22 years of annual data from five Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economies, covering the years 1996-2017. The authors use the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to check regression among variables.FindingsThe empirical findings first disclosed the positive impact of FIC whereas CC had an inverse impact on CO2 emissions. However, the moderating role of CC was observed in mitigating the adverse impact of FIC on ecological quality. In addition, the statistical analysis further showed an inverse impact of economic growth and foreign investment and a positive impact of trade volume and energy consumption on CO2 emissions.Practical implicationsThis analysis states an important policy regarding integrated FIC and green environmental requirements. Additionally, the negative externality of FIC can be controlled by improving the CC.Originality/valueThis study complements the existing literature on FIC and environmental quality by adding the moderating role of CC.