Exploring green loans: Effects on household financial habits compared to conventional loans

¹ Almaty Management University, 227, Rozybakiyev Street, 050060, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan
² Moscow Witte University, 12, bld. 1, 2nd Kozhukhovsky proezd, 115432, Moscow, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: bay_aliya@mail.ru

Abstract

Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan, are demonstrating their interest in protecting the environment and conserving natural resources by introducing ESG principles in the financial sector and supporting the global green economy course. The steady growth of household borrowing and increased attention to the environmental component at the state level prompted a study of the impact of income inequality (Gini index) on the use of renewable energy sources. According to the authors of the study, increasing inequality may lead to a decrease in public and political support for renewable energy policies. This idea formed the basis of the hypothesis and served as the purpose of the study. The hypothesis testing was based on secondary data from official sources using correlation and regression analysis. The results of the analysis showed a weak relationship between the two variables, which did not confirm the hypothesis of the study, indicating the need for further study of this issue with the coverage of Central Asian countries and the introduction of additional factors (energy prices, GDP per capita, unemployment rate and others) into the proposed model. The results of the study will serve as a basis for the development of further research on this topic for the countries of Central Asia due to its insufficient study.