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Sustainable Finance and Policy Frameworks in Emerging Markets
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Sustainable Finance and Policy Frameworks in Emerging Markets

A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability and Finance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 2385

Editors

Dr. Vladimir Ristanović

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of European Studies, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: international economics and finance; macroeconomic stability; green investment dynamics; sustainable finance and development; economic policy analysis; emerging markets; EU economic integration; economic growth
Prof. Dr. Markus Brueckner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research School of Economics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Interests: economic development and growth; international economics; macroeconomics; political economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging markets face a complex combination of structural economic transitions, climate-related pressures, institutional reforms, and rapid financial innovation. This Special Issue examines how sustainable finance interacts with policy frameworks to shape long-term development paths, financial resilience, and investment dynamics in these economies. The aim is to provide an integrated platform for theoretical and empirical contributions that investigate how sustainable financial instruments, regulatory strategies, and institutional arrangements support competitiveness, stability, and inclusive growth.

We welcome research exploring the design, implementation, and effectiveness of policy frameworks that guide sustainable finance, ranging from regulatory governance and supervisory mechanisms to incentive structures, risk mitigation strategies, and market-building measures. Within this context, topics may include climate-aligned financial instruments, transition pathways, cross-border capital flows, institutional performance, macro-prudential sustainability policies, and the evolving role of digital financial ecosystems.

This Special Issue also encourages studies that analyze the interaction between financial market development and broader socio-economic transformation processes. This includes the role of governance quality, policy credibility, investor behavior, and international policy coordination in shaping sustainable investment decisions. Interdisciplinary approaches that connect finance, public policy, institutional economics, and sustainability science are particularly welcome.

By bringing together diverse perspectives, this issue aims to deepen the understanding of how emerging markets can design effective policy frameworks that mobilize sustainable finance, strengthen resilience, and support their transition toward low-carbon, adaptive, and globally integrated economies.

Dr. Vladimir Ristanović
Prof. Dr. Markus Brueckner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable finance
  • policy frameworks
  • climate-aligned investment
  • financial resilience
  • regulatory governance
  • institutional performance
  • green policy design
  • emerging market transitions policy (transformation by sectors)
  • capital allocation efficiency
  • education, skills and workforce development for sustainable economies
  • adaptive financial systems
  • climate-related financial risks
  • investor behavior in emerging markets
  • policy credibility and stability
  • governance effectiveness in emerging markets.

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 764 KB  
Article
ESG-Oriented Capital Allocation Efficiency in Emerging Markets: Hybrid MCDM Framework
by Dinko Primorac, Ivona Huđek Kanižaj, Ana Mulović Trgovac and Željka Marčinko Trkulja
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2026, 19(6), 428; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm19060428 - 15 Jun 2026
Viewed by 217
Abstract
Efficient allocation of capital toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives has become a critical challenge for emerging economies pursuing sustainable development and financial resilience. While prior research has primarily focused on ESG investment volumes, considerably less attention has been devoted to the [...] Read more.
Efficient allocation of capital toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives has become a critical challenge for emerging economies pursuing sustainable development and financial resilience. While prior research has primarily focused on ESG investment volumes, considerably less attention has been devoted to the efficiency with which financial and institutional systems transform capital into measurable sustainability outcomes. This study introduces the concept of ESG-Oriented Capital Allocation Efficiency (ECAE) and develops a hybrid multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) framework to evaluate its performance across 24 emerging market economies during the period 2021–2025. The proposed framework integrates DEMATEL, ANP, entropy weighting, TOPSIS, and VIKOR methods to capture causal relationships, interdependencies, weighting structures, and comparative efficiency rankings. The results identify governance effectiveness, ESG policy stability, and regulatory quality as the most influential drivers of ECAE, while higher ESG investment volumes alone do not necessarily generate superior sustainability outcomes. Sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of the ranking results across alternative weighting scenarios. The findings suggest that strengthening institutional quality, policy coherence, and governance effectiveness is essential for improving sustainable finance outcomes. The study contributes to the sustainable finance literature by providing a policy-oriented framework for evaluating how effectively emerging market economies translate ESG-oriented capital into tangible sustainability performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Finance and Policy Frameworks in Emerging Markets)
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18 pages, 349 KB  
Article
Capital Allocation and Sustainable Rural Development in Emerging Markets: A Multi-Criteria Analysis of Investment Priorities
by Berislav Andrlić, Marko Šostar and Verica Budimir
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2026, 19(6), 419; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm19060419 - 10 Jun 2026
Viewed by 217
Abstract
This study examines how investment priorities for sustainable rural development are shaped when financial, environmental, social, and institutional criteria are evaluated simultaneously. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the study assesses six investment alternatives: eco-tourism, agro-tourism, renewable energy, digital tourism, sustainable agriculture, and [...] Read more.
This study examines how investment priorities for sustainable rural development are shaped when financial, environmental, social, and institutional criteria are evaluated simultaneously. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the study assesses six investment alternatives: eco-tourism, agro-tourism, renewable energy, digital tourism, sustainable agriculture, and cultural tourism. The results reveal the dominance of financial performance and risk considerations, which together account for more than two-thirds of total decision weight. Renewable energy emerges as the highest-ranked investment alternative, whereas agro-tourism and sustainable agriculture remain under-prioritized despite their environmental and social benefits. A comparative scenario analysis demonstrates that policy-oriented weighting structures substantially alter investment rankings, increasing the attractiveness of locally embedded and sustainability-oriented activities. The findings suggest a structural divergence between market-driven capital allocation and broader rural development objectives. By integrating sustainable finance and rural development within a multi-criteria decision-making framework, the study provides practical insights for investors and policymakers seeking to align investment decisions with long-term sustainability goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Finance and Policy Frameworks in Emerging Markets)
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22 pages, 383 KB  
Article
Pathways to Green Employment: Skills, Structure, and Policy in EU Transition Economies
by Vladimir Ristanović, Dinko Primorac and Nataša Stevandić
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2026, 19(6), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm19060395 - 29 May 2026
Viewed by 302
Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between green vocational education and training (VET), structural economic features, and green employment in Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. For the purpose of the research, an initial database covering the post-2010 period was assembled from Eurostat and [...] Read more.
This paper investigates the relationship between green vocational education and training (VET), structural economic features, and green employment in Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. For the purpose of the research, an initial database covering the post-2010 period was assembled from Eurostat and related statistical sources. Due to data availability and cross-country comparability constraints, the final empirical analysis employs a balanced panel of six EU Member States covering the period 2018–2022. The empirical analysis employs pooled OLS and fixed-effects estimators over the period 2018–2022, following a stepwise modeling strategy to assess baseline relationships and robustness. The results show that VET enrollment alone is not a reliable predictor of green employment growth, while VET graduation rates exhibit a more consistent—yet not robust—association once country-specific heterogeneity is controlled for. By contrast, structural reliance on industrial sectors is consistently linked to lower green employment shares, while environmental tax revenues demonstrate modest positive effects. Overall, the findings suggest that green employment dynamics are driven primarily by structural and macroeconomic conditions rather than by skill formation alone. The study contributes to the literature on the green transition by providing an integrated perspective on the interaction between skills, structural transformation, and policy incentives in shaping sustainable labor market outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Finance and Policy Frameworks in Emerging Markets)
16 pages, 594 KB  
Article
A Conceptual Framework for Risk-Adjusted Investment Attractiveness Assessment of Manufacturing Companies
by George Abuselidze, Adina Zharlikenova and Beibit Korabayev
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2026, 19(3), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm19030201 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1063
Abstract
Assessing the investment attractiveness of companies is essential for effective capital allocation under conditions of uncertainty and heterogeneous risk–return profiles. Investors typically face multiple financing alternatives, making comparative evaluation impossible without robust and specialized assessment methodologies. This study proposes a refined conceptual model [...] Read more.
Assessing the investment attractiveness of companies is essential for effective capital allocation under conditions of uncertainty and heterogeneous risk–return profiles. Investors typically face multiple financing alternatives, making comparative evaluation impossible without robust and specialized assessment methodologies. This study proposes a refined conceptual model for assessing the investment attractiveness of production companies, with a specific focus on the manufacturing sector of Kazakhstan. The research is based on a modeling-oriented methodological framework that integrates a modified discounted cash flow (DCF) approach with elements of environmental controlling. The proposed model incorporates sector-specific characteristics, including resource utilization patterns, regulatory requirements and the potential “green” premium observed in capital markets. To capture investment-related uncertainty and risk, the study employs material flow cost accounting, scenario-based modeling and probabilistic decision tree analysis. Particular attention is given to improving the determination of the discount rate, recognizing its critical influence on present value-based investment assessments. The model accounts for macroeconomic and sectoral factors specific to Kazakhstan’s production industry and offers alternative discount rate estimation scenarios under different initial conditions. The study contributes to the literature on investment attractiveness assessment by integrating financial, environmental and risk dimensions into a unified framework. The proposed model enhances transparency in investment decision-making and provides new insights into investment evaluation practices in emerging industrial economies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Finance and Policy Frameworks in Emerging Markets)
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