Research on the Impact of Financial Development and Human Capital on the Sustainable Development Goals in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs): Evidence from Econometric Approaches

Yağcılar, Gamze Göçmen; Erdaş, Mehmet Levent; Arslan, Zühal

Research on the Impact of Financial Development and Human Capital on the Sustainable Development Goals in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs): Evidence from Econometric Approaches

Review of Economic Perspectives

Volume 25 (2025): Issue 1 (March 2025)

By:

Gamze Göçmen Yağcılar

, Mehmet Levent Erdaş

and Zühal Arslan

Open Access

|Sep 2025

Figures & Tables

Time-Series plots of the selected variables

The results of unit root test

Null hypothesis	Test value	Critical values Break in level			Test value	Critical values Break in level and trend
Null hypothesis	Test value	1%	5%	10%	Test value	1%	5%	10%
Fourier GLS, H₀:	Unit root
Czech_ESG	–0.015*	–3.298	–2.601	–2.187	–2.264*	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Czech_FDI	–0.413*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–4.387***	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Czech_HDI	–1.404*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–2.126*	–3.797	3.149	–2.831
Poland_ESG	–0.628*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–4.046**	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Poland_FDI	–0.567*	–2.934	–2.256	–1.918	–3.586*	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Poland_HDI	–1.033*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–4.115**	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Romania_ESG	–0.255*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–5.385	–4.278	–3.647	–3.316
Romania_FDI	–1.935**	–2.934	–2.256	–1.918	–4.109**	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Romania_HDI	–1.970*	–3.911	–3.294	–2.328	–2.616*	–4.044	–3.367	–3.037
Hungary_ESG	–1.018*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–2.867*	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Hungary_FDI	–1.332*	–3.298	–2.601	–2.187	–2.683*	–3.797	3.149	–2.831
Hungary_HDI	–0.770*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–3.389*	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Bulgaria_ESG	–0.603*	–2.888	–2.200	–1.880	–2.861*	–4.044	–3.367	–3.037
Bulgaria_FDI	–3.064**	–3.911	–3.294	–2.328	–4.116**	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Bulgaria_HDI	–1.479	–3.911	–3.294	–2.328	–4.045**	–4.771	–4.175	–3.879
Fourier ADF,	H₀: Unit root
Czech_ESG	–0.329*	–3.970	–3.270	–2.910	–3.494*	–4.690	–4.050	–3.710
Czech_FDI	–2.666**	–3.640	–2.970	–2.640	–4.116**	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Czech_HDI	–3.209*	–4.420	–3.810	–3.490	–3.631**	–4.450	–3.780	–3.440
Poland_ESG	–0.257*	–3.770	–3.070	–2.710	–4.022*	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Poland_FDI	–1.786*	–3.640	–2.970	–2.640	–3.371*	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Poland_HDI	–2.209*	–4.420	–3.810	–3.490	–4.308**	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Romania_ESG	–1.483*	–3.580	–2.930	–2.600	–1.418*	–4.200	–3.560	–3.220
Romania_FDI	–2.770**	–3.640	–2.970	–2.640	–4.068**	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Romania_HDI	–1.030*	–3.640	–2.970	–2.640	–3.334*	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Hungary_ESG	–0.658*	–3.580	–2.930	–2.600	–3.558*	–4.690	–4.050	–3.710
Hungary_FDI	–2.840*	–4.420	–3.810	–3.490	–3.052*	–4.200	–3.560	–3.220
Hungary_HDI	–0.177*	–4.420	–3.810	–3.490	–3.891*	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050
Bulgaria_ESG	–0.994*	–3.770	–3.070	–2.710	–3.457**	–4.450	–3.780	–3.440
Bulgaria_FDI	–5.117	–3.640	–2.970	–2.640	–5.286	–4.290	–3.650	–3.290
Bulgaria_HDI	–0.244*	–3.580	–2.930	–2.600	–3.132*	–4.950	–4.350	–4.050

The results of cointegration test – Hatemi-J (2008) Regime Shift; H0: No Cointegration

Country	ESG – FDI			ESG – HDI
Country		Test stat.	Break dates		Test stat.	Break dates
Czech	ADF	–4.059	2004–2012	ADF	–7.003	2001–2016
	Z_t	–4.059	2002–2012	Z_t	–7.130	2001–2015
	Z_a	–25.819	2002–2012	Z_a	–39.845	2001–2015
Poland	ADF	–6.099**	2003–2012	ADF	–5.457	1997–2015
	Z_t	–4.796	2002–2011	Z_t	–5.876*	1998–2016
	Z_a	–26.805	2002–2011	Z_a	–33.768	1998–2016
Romania	ADF	–5.986*	2008–2014	ADF	–5.873*	1993–2006
	Z_t	–5.986*	2008–2014	Z_t	–6.273*	2000–2009
	Z_a	–33.984	2008–2014	Z_a	–27.488	2000–2009
Hungary	ADF	–6.042**	2004–2012	ADF	–6.242*	1997–2000
	Z_t	–6.097**	2004–2008	Z_t	–5.845*	1995–2014
	Z_a	–29.383	2004–2008	Z_a	–30.289	1992–1995
Bulgaria	ADF	–6.117**	2001–2009	ADF	–6.216*	2004–2014
	Z_t	–4.890	2002–2012	Z_t	–6.535***	1993–2014
	Z_a	–27.674	2002–2012	Z_a	–31.719	1993–2014

j_revecp-2025-0003_utab_001

Critical values
	1%	5%	10%
ADF	–6.503	–6.015	–5.653
Z_t	–6.503	–6.015	–5.653
Z_a	–90.704	–76.003	–52.232

The results of cumulative causality tests

Direction	Cumulative Fourier-frequency Granger Causality			Lag-Freq.	Direction	Cumulative Fourier-frequency Toda and Yamamoto Causality			Lag-Freq.
Direction	Wald	Asym. p-value	Boost. p-value	Lag-Freq.	Direction	Wald	Asym. p-value	Boost. p-value	Lag-Freq.
Czech
ESG ⇒ FDI	6.517	0.259	0.344	5-3	ESG ⇒ FDI	6.265	0.281	0.380	5-3
FDI ⇒ ESG	3.338	0.648	0.639	5-3	FDI ⇒ ESG	4.850	0.435	0.497	5-3
ESG ⇒ HDI	4.302	0.116	0.137	2-3	ESG ⇒ HDI	2.555	0.279	0.292	2-3
HDI ⇒ ESG	14.670*	0.001	0.002	2-3	HDI ⇒ ESG	52.468*	0.000	0.000	2-3
Poland
ESG ⇒ FDI	4.628	0.328	0.365	4-3	ESG ⇒ FDI	2.815	0.728	0.724	5-3
FDI ⇒ ESG	4.058	0.398	0.436	4-3	FDI ⇒ ESG	2.600	0.761	0.750	5-3
ESG ⇒ HDI	11.542	0.042	0.119	5-3	ESG ⇒ HDI	9.701	0.084	0.213	5-3
HDI ⇒ ESG	8.379	0.137	0.224	5-3	HDI ⇒ ESG	12.625***	0.027	0.079	5-3
Romania
ESG ⇒ FDI	6.964	0.223	0.304	5-3	ESG ⇒ FDI	13.907***	0.016	0.097	5-3
FDI ⇒ ESG	27.311*	0.000	0.009	5-3	FDI ⇒ ESG	17.815**	0.003	0.049	5-3
ESG ⇒ HDI	8.698	0.122	0.202	5-3	ESG ⇒ HDI	22.026**	0.001	0.026	5-3
HDI ⇒ ESG	6.397	0.269	0.341	5-3	HDI ⇒ ESG	4.713	0.452	0.532	5-3
Hungary
ESG ⇒ FDI	19.695**	0.001	0.037	5-3	ESG ⇒ FDI	16.710***	0.005	0.065	5-3
FDI ⇒ ESG	0.541	0.991	0.985	5-3	FDI ⇒ ESG	5.603	0.347	0.418	5-3
ESG ⇒ HDI	3.039	0.694	0.729	5-3	ESG ⇒ HDI	4.012	0.548	0.567	5-3
HDI ⇒ ESG	4.245	0.515	0.572	5-3	HDI ⇒ ESG	31.088**	0.000	0.015	5-3
Bulgaria
ESG ⇒ FDI	3.683	0.596	0.644	5-3	ESG ⇒ FDI	15.126**	0.004	0.030	4-3
FDI ⇒ ESG	2.285	0.809	0.793	5-3	FDI ⇒ ESG	2.532	0.639	0.652	4-3
ESG ⇒ HDI	1.557	0.906	0.901	5-3	ESG ⇒ HDI	1.395	0.845	0.842	4-3
HDI ⇒ ESG	7.554	0.183	0.270	5-3	HDI ⇒ ESG	5.007	0.287	0.331	4-3

Descriptive statistics of the selected variables

	Mean	Med.	Max.	Min.	Std. Dev.	Skew.	Kur.	Jar-Bera	Prob.
Czech_ESG	0.62872	0.62544	0.65538	0.60544	0.01844	0.23711	1.41271	3.77347	0.15156
Czech_FDI	4.38729	3.86354	10.33700	0.09000	2.60015	0.80228	3.02250	3.54083	0.17026
Czech_HDI	0.83866	0.85600	0.89600	0.74600	0.05199	–0.50441	1.83180	3.27585	0.19438
Poland_ESG	0.61336	0.60774	0.64870	0.58667	0.02252	0.26881	1.47966	3.57561	0.16732
Poland_FDI	3.12857	3.18944	6.23080	0.13489	1.59378	–0.01952	2.57703	0.24808	0.88334
Poland_HDI	0.81521	0.82400	0.88100	0.71100	0.05484	–0.52418	2.02394	2.82116	0.24400
Romania_ESG	0.62996	0.62310	0.66296	0.60536	0.02022	0.46097	1.71053	3.45497	0.17773
Romania_FDI	2.97518	2.78361	9.02006	0.00002	2.24096	1.10512	3.86924	7.75606	0.05069
Romania_HDI	0.76345	0.76800	0.83400	0.68300	0.05532	–0.13790	1.34572	3.86746	0.14460
Hungary_ESG	0.63678	0.63457	0.66304	0.61650	0.01577	0.29721	1.62049	3.10251	0.21198
Hungary_FDI	17.27730	7.56713	106.59400	2.13023	22.89200	2.32873	8.40185	69.94890	0.00000
Hungary_HDI	0.79818	0.81500	0.85400	0.71400	0.04762	–0.52041	1.79284	3.49324	0.17436
Bulgaria_ESG	0.61810	0.61661	0.64879	0.59558	0.01863	0.34792	1.64966	3.17296	0.20464
BulgariaFDI	5.95930	3.57471	31.22750	0.01938	6.88047	2.18989	7.62415	55.77740	0.00000
Bulgaria_HDI	0.75993	0.77000	0.81300	0.69800	0.04329	–0.25693	1.43815	3.71719	0.15589

The results of Hatemi-J (2012, 2014) asymmetric causality test

Countries	H₀	Model	Test value	Critical bootstrap value
Countries	H₀	Model	Test value	1%	5%	10%
Czech	ESG ⇏ FDI	Pos	2.236	12.531	6.667	5.176
Czech	ESG ⇏ FDI	Neg	8.824***	16.397	10.181	7.680
Poland	ESG ⇏ FDI	Pos	0.061	9.489	4.953	3.227
Poland	ESG ⇏ FDI	Neg	2.253	9.791	4.758	2.784
Romania	ESG ⇏ FDI	Pos	0.765	11.477	5.395	3.398
Romania	ESG ⇏ FDI	Neg	0.033	10.503	4.724	3.112
Hungary	ESG ⇏ FDI	Pos	3.804	16.019	11.298	8.820
Hungary	ESG ⇏ FDI	Neg	0.232	8.318	4.668	3.355
Bulgaria	ESG ⇏ FDI	Pos	4.430***	12.534	5.769	3.924
Bulgaria	ESG ⇏ FDI	Neg	0.046	10.330	5.652	3.616
Czech	ESG ⇏ HDI	Pos	0.871	13.402	8.166	5.802
Czech	ESG ⇏ HDI	Neg	0.092	11.692	4.868	3.054
Poland	ESG ⇏ HDI	Pos	2.654	8.236	4.800	2.983
Poland	ESG ⇏ HDI	Neg	0.045	23.045	7.311	3.157
Romania	ESG ⇏ HDI	Pos	3.627	8.458	5.291	3.977
Romania	ESG ⇏ HDI	Neg	0.133	14.805	7.092	5.581
Hungary	ESG ⇏ HDI	Pos	0.626	11.229	5.776	4.004
Hungary	ESG ⇏ HDI	Neg	0.072	7.948	4.575	3.193
Bulgaria	ESG ⇏ HDI	Pos	4.927	14.286	7.975	5.710
Bulgaria	ESG ⇏ HDI	Neg	2.469	29.317	16.768	12.581
Czech	FDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	1.158	13.324	6.914	5.393
Czech	FDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.643	16.035	9.766	7.314
Poland	FDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	0.529	8.150	4.210	3.003
Poland	FDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.014	7.982	4.478	2.952
Romania	FDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	1.815	7.239	4.067	2.827
Romania	FDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.000	12.077	4.918	2.899
Hungary	FDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	0.027	12.734	5.667	3.805
Hungary	FDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.669	7.949	4.692	3.210
Bulgaria	FDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	3.635***	8.490	4.682	3.509
Bulgaria	FDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	1.065	14.092	6.824	4.777
Czech	HDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	6.886***	14.095	8.168	6.445
Czech	HDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.051	11.449	5.118	3.056
Poland	HDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	0.015	8.481	4.845	3.224
Poland	HDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.004	22.413	5.867	2.785
Romania	HDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	5.751***	9.450	6.003	3.966
Romania	HDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	0.311	11.198	6.323	4.349
Hungary	HDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	8.534***	14.195	8.688	6.649
Hungary	HDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	2.327	8.996	4.338	2.926
Bulgaria	HDI ⇏ ESG	Pos	20.719**	24.988	15.751	12.355
Bulgaria	HDI ⇏ ESG	Neg	5.960	16.427	9.327	7.373

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/revecp-2025-0003 | Journal eISSN: 1804-1663 | Journal ISSN: 1213-2446

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Language: English

Page range: 29 - 47

Published on: Sep 8, 2025

Published by: Mendel University in Brno

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 times per year

Keywords:

financial globalization,

Human Development Index,

ESG performance,

symmetry and asymmetry relation,

Central and Eastern European countries

Related subjects:

Business and economics,

Political economics,

Economic theory, systems and structures

© 2025 Gamze Göçmen Yağcılar, Mehmet Levent Erdaş, Zühal Arslan, published by Mendel University in Brno
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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Research on the Impact of Financial Development and Human Capital on the Sustainable Development Goals in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs): Evidence from Econometric Approaches

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1:

The results of unit root test

The results of cointegration test – Hatemi-J (2008) Regime Shift; H0: No Cointegration

j_revecp-2025-0003_utab_001

The results of cumulative causality tests

Descriptive statistics of the selected variables

The results of Hatemi-J (2012, 2014) asymmetric causality test

Paradigm

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