Contemporary Issues in Sustainable Finance Creating an Efficient Market through Innovative Policies and Instruments

Sustainable investments, although not yet working under a comprehensive regulatory framework, represent a growing, worldwide phenomenon. Such growth reflects the renewed public and private interest in environmental issues such as climate change, poverty and financial inclusion, as well as growing support from conscious investors looking to finance environmental and social initiatives. However, despite the interest that sustainable investments are gaining among governors, investors and practitioners, important challenges remain that must be addressed.

Comprising a collection of research presented at the 2nd Social Impact Investments International Conference, this contributed volume offers a global analysis of the current state of the sustainable finance sector, proposing solutions to challenging obstacles and exploring topics including impact investing, social impact bonds and green banking. Providing real-life case studies from Europe, Latin America and Africa, this book is an insightful and timely read for scholars interested in sustainable finance, social impact investing, development finance and alternative finance.

1. Enhancing Efficiency in Sustainable Markets; Mario La Torre and Helen Chiappini.- 2. Financing Sustainable Goals: Economic and Legal Implications; Raffaele Felicetti and Alessandro Rizzello.- 3. Rethinking Taxation and Impact Investments; Alessandro Mazzullo.- 4. Profitable Impact Bonds: Introducing Risk-sharing Mechanisms for a More Balanced Version of Social Impact Bonds; Giulia Proietti.- 5. Social Stock Exchanges: Defining the Research Agenda; Karen Wendt.- 6. A Macro-level Analysis of the Economic and Social Impact of Microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa; Roberto Pasca di Magliano and Andrea Vaccaro.- 7. Environmental Impact Investments in Europe; Giuliana Birindelli, Annarita Trotta, Helen Chiappini, Alessandro Rizzello.- 8.  The Increasing Importance of Green Bonds as Instruments of Impact Investing: Towards a  New European Standardisation; Maria Cristina Quirici.- 9. Green Banking in Italy: Current and Future Challenges; Giuseppina Procopio, Annarita Trotta, Eugenia Strano and Antonia Patrizia Iannuzzi.- 10. Opportunities and Challenges of Impact Investing in Climate-smart Agriculture in Latin America; Angélica Rotondaro, Andrea Minardi and Leonie Dissemond.- 11. Sustainable Finance: Trends, Opportunities and Risks; Mario La Torre and Helen Chiappini.

Mario La Torre is Professor of Banking and Finance at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and author of the blog Good in Finance. His research revolves around banking, financial intermediaries and financial innovation. Also an expert in ethical finance, microfinance and finance for the audiovisual industry, Mario is series editor of Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance. He is a member of the Board of the Italian National Body for Microcredit and was previously a member of the G8 Taskforce on Social Impact Investments. As well as publishing in academic journals, Mario is the co-editor of the book, Socially Responsible Investments (Palgrave, 2019).

Helen Chiappini is Assistant Professor at G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy, where she teaches Sustainable Finance and Corporate Finance. Additionally, she teaches Impact Investing at the Pontifical Lateran University of the Vatican City. Helenis the sub-series editor of Palgrave Studies in Green Finance and Guest Editor of Sustainability. Her areas of research include green finance, impact investments, socially responsible investments and microfinance. She has written and co-edited two books: Social Impact Funds (Palgrave, 2017) and Socially Responsible Investments (Palgrave, 2019).