Financing: what fiscal tools are available to enhance regional sustainable development

The role played by finance and the relevance of fiscal tools in order to enhance regional sustainable development are here analytically considered. Regional development is increasingly related to sustainability and refers to a wide set of dynamics: among others, the wise use of natural resources, the transition to green/circular economy, job creation and tackling poverty, growth of clean technologies, production, and well-being. The debate on the sustainability of finance and financial instruments has seen, in the last decade, an important acceleration, including the analysis of best practices from specific countries and regions, or evidences from developing countries. In this respect, ethical and green finance, in contrast to predatory forms of financialization (a key feature of globalization), are emerging and currently regarded as necessary to accompany the sustainable development of regions. In particular, green finance and ethical finance play a role in sustainable regional development by encouraging policies, both public and private, in the direction of environmental and green initiatives. They also aim at building a typology of finance based upon the ethics of prudent risk-taking, while recognizing financial dilemmas as an area of possible consequences of the action.