Evolution of ecological financial market from the perspective of institutional economics

Abstract

In the market economy the “actors” act according to rules of the game – the institutions – which impose certain restrictions on their behavior, making it more predictable for the other participants, reduce risk and uncertainty, and furthermore lowers transaction costs, etc. Institutions can be broadly divided into formal (coming from the state) and informal (derived from market participants and their interactions). Market participants are trying to creatively interpret the rules for their own use. The financial sector is regarded as being particularly creative in its approach to the formal rules due to its flexibility, speed and innovation. In this context it is interesting to consider a growing interest of the participants of the commercial financial market in the idea of environmental protection from the perspective of institutional economics. This constitutes the aim of the study, which main concern is to answer the following questions: How can the ecological behavior of the financial market players be attributed to the new institutions? What are the driving forces behind this phenomenon? What sanctions are imposed for breaking informal rules? How do the formal and informal institutions interact? Finally, how could the state influence and reinforce such behavior?