Return and volatility network asymmetries between clean energy and fourth industrial revolution markets

SN Business & Economics , cilt.6, sa.430, ss.2-40, 2026 (Scopus)

This study examines whether return and volatility shocks generate the same con-

nectedness structure across clean energy and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)

markets. Using daily data from 2015 to 2026 for ten investable market proxies

spanning clean energy, advanced computing, artificial intelligence and robotics, 3D

printing, and biotechnology, we combine Quantile Vector Autoregression with gen-

eralized forecast error variance decomposition in a rolling-window framework. De-

pendence-aware bootstrap inference and network-topology measures complement

the aggregate connectedness indicators. The results reveal pronounced state depen-

dence. Return connectedness becomes system-wide in both tails, whereas volatility

connectedness is more asymmetric, remaining comparatively segmented in the low-

er tail and becoming strongly synchronized in the upper tail. Even when aggregate

return and volatility connectedness converge, their underlying network structures

remain distinct, with volatility transmission more concentrated and the strongest

bilateral links not fully overlapping with those in the return system. Clean-energy

instruments emerge as robust net transmitters, whereas the 3D-printing segment

contains the clearest net receiver under upper-tail volatility. The findings show that

return and volatility spillovers should not be treated as interchangeable measures of

market integration because common repricing and common uncertainty can gener-

ate different transmission architectures and timing.