FinTech adoption in achieving ecologically sustainable mineral management in Asian OBOR countries – A cross-section and time autoregressive robust analysis

The balance between economic activity, economic growth, and ecosystem is a need of the time. Belt and Road Initiative countries working on the One Belt and One Road project (OBOR), constituting 130 countries, are participating with China to achieve growth via trade. These countries, where trade and commerce have influence, are rich in natural minerals as well as natural habitat and biodiversity. Along with infrastructural efforts, the world is also experiencing a growth in technology 4.0, specifically its gains in terms of financial innovation. This study has explored 27 countries from the Asian OBOR group and assessed the potential moderating role of FinTech on resource extraction sustainability. The results from multi-dimensional, long-term, and robust estimates showed that resource rents harm environmental performance and FinTech positively moderates this relationship. This study is instrumental for the policymakers in quantifying the hampering spillover/spatial effects and diminishing time horizon policy effectiveness.