Impact of digital technologies and financial development on green growth: Role of mineral resources, institutional quality, and human development in South Asia

Exploring the interplay between digital technologies, financial development, mineral resources, governance, and human development is imperative for catalyzing green growth. Therefore, this study investigates the interlinkages between these factors from 1990 to 2021 by employing the Cross -Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model, which addresses cross-section dependence and slope heterogeneity. The estimated longrun regression results exhibit a positive and significant impact of digital technologies, human and financial development, and institutional quality on green growth. Yet, the marginal contribution of these variables substantially varied for green growth. Contrarily, mineral resources substantially restrict the green growth potential due to less diversification. Similar results are echoed in the short run but produce a relatively lower coefficient magnitude. Error correction term converges the model with a 40% adjustment rate to maintain the steady-state equilibrium position. The validity of the results was assessed through the Augmented Mean Group. The study outcomes encourage policymakers to stimulate higher education, digital technologies, resource efficiency and institutional governance in an integrated framework.