Impact of Gender Equality and Green Finance on Green Growth: Insights From OECD Economies

ABSTRACT Gender equality, as a fundamental human right, is a key pillar of sustainable development because it boosts productivity, promotes social cohesion, and supports green growth. This study investigates how gender equality (GEQ) and green finance (GRF) influence green growth (GRG) across 36 OECD countries from 1990 to 2022, using a double machine learning method to address potential endogeneity and model uncertainty. The results show that both GEQ and GRF have a positive impact on GRG, with regulatory quality serving as a moderating factor. Specifically, a one‐unit increase in GEQ and GRF corresponds to a 0.55% and 0.13% increase in GRG, respectively. Furthermore, GEQ promotes GRG through enhancing environmental tax effectiveness, supporting green technology and boosting green R&D investment. These results provide valuable policy recommendations to improve gender equality and support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.