Eco-Social Policy in Emerging Economies: A Systematic Literature Review of a Green-Buffering Trajectory

Abstract

As a nascent field, little is known about eco-social policy, and to an even lesser extent, within emerging economies. This article examines how eco-social policies are framed and practiced in this context using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 20 peer-reviewed articles, selected from an initial pool of 985 records following a multi-stage screening and eligibility assessment process. The findings reveal that eco-social policy in developing countries has evolved as a sub-agenda within ongoing developmental expansion, operating alongside broader responses to structural complexities rooted in poverty, inequality, and labor informality. It is reflected in the central emphasis on preventive-institutionalized measures (i.e., long-term planning, community-based resource governance, just transition strategies), complemented by compensatory short-term interventions (i.e., social assistance, job training, and climate-related risk support), aimed at realigning welfare regimes with environmental and social welfare objectives. Nevertheless, these policies are not conditioned to supporting industrial decarbonization, but instead function as risk reducers for the just transition and the climate crisis–particularly given widespread informality and (environmental-related) structural vulnerability. Based on this pattern, the article argues that eco-social policy in emerging economies most likely follows a green-buffering rather than a production-oriented, decarbonization-driven trajectory characteristic of mature welfare states. The article concludes by outlining limitations and future research directions, calling for empirical testing and contextual refinement of the framework across diverse post-colonial settings and emerging just transition coalitions.