Economic growth and green finance path for sustainable rural development in Romania

Rural development is facing a series of barriers, one of the most important being the insufficient level of private investment. Economic growth (EG) and Green finance (GF) represent opportunities to fill this investment gap in sustainable rural development. The main objective of this paper is to determine and analyze the potential of EG and GF as mechanisms to address emerging issues in Romania, such as economic resilience and adaptation in rural development. A comprehensive literature review, supplemented by a quantitative analysis of the key socio-economic indicators, is performed. This research identifies areas for improvement in policy frameworks for scaling up GF. The integration of GF with EG has many advantages, which could significantly advance sustainable rural development. GF and EG may have positive effects on sustainable rural development in Romania, including reducing regional development disparities, increasing economic resilience, enhancing climate change adaptation, and improving the capacity to respond to unexpected events. In addition, GF helps to diversify the national economy through more efficient use of resources, strengthened social inclusion and equity, and ensures the long-term sustainability of rural initiatives.