Are cities venturing green? A global analysis of the impact of green entrepreneurship on city air pollution

Theodor F. Cojoianu, Andreas G.F. Hoepner, Xi Hu, Moustafa Ramadan*, Paolo Veneri, Dariusz Wójcik

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Situated at the intersection between environmental entrepreneurship and urban sustainability, our paper seeks to investigate the links between city-level green venture ecosystems and the ability of urban centres to reduce air pollution. Using a large dataset of 12,834 urban centres from around the world and their associated yearly average particulate matter (PM2.5), we show that an increase in the cumulative number of green start-ups drives the lowering of PM2.5 levels. Looking closely at the subsectors that drive the results, we observe that the urban centres which hosted increased numbers of innovators in smart grid technologies, energy efficiency and wind energy generation (the low carbon energy sector overall) also experienced a decrease in air pollution over the 2010–2019 period. Thus, our study is a global analysis of the environmental impact of green entrepreneurship on local air pollution.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages18
JournalSmall Business Economics
Early online date14 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 14 Apr 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • air pollution
  • green entrepreneurship
  • impact investing
  • urban entrepreneurship

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