One negative consequences of industrialization has been the generation and release of toxic chemicals, which have detrimental effects on the environment, climate, and public health. As the world grapples with environmental and climate change challenges, these byproducts are becoming an important issue drawing the attention of investors, scholars, and governments. For instance, toxic emissions are… Read More »
Do UK employers misreport information about gender pay equity? While many countries have attempted to close gender pay gaps with legislation, such as the 1963 Equal Pay Act in the US and the 1970 Equality Act in the UK, a common criticism of these laws is that enforcement is difficult because firms need not publicly… Read More »
Since William Nordhaus published his seminal work in 1994, economists have coalesced around the need to implement carbon taxes to address the negative externalities of greenhouse gas emissions on temperatures. Under this paradigm, properly designed carbon taxes induce firms to internalize the cost to society of their emissions, thereby restoring the socially optimal allocation. In… Read More »
Regulatory oversight is important for safeguarding investors’ interests and ensuring the efficient functioning of financial markets. However, oversight can sometimes fail due to extraordinary factors such as resource constraints and political connections. Our recent study shows that oversight failure can also occur because of reduced productivity of regulators due to severe fine particulate matter air… Read More »
“Meat shaming,” “flight shaming,” and other carbon-footprint shaming behaviors are familiar phenomena in today’s climate-conscious society. In this context, people harness their ability to cause shame and embarrassment to others to prompt private individuals to adopt climate-friendly practices. A different type of climate shaming involves the shaming of firms by government regulators to achieve climate-related… Read More »
Despite their volatility and the many regulatory challenges that cryptoassets presents, they continue to be adopted by institutions and individuals alike, with some of the world’s largest organizations, ranging from Wall Street banks to U.N. institutions, allocating resources to the space. As exciting as crypto assets may be, however, no singular technology or financial instrument… Read More »
Millennials and GenZ’ers are perceived to have a reckless mentality and adopt a careless attitude toward life decisions, including investing. The reality, however, is that Millennials and GenZ’ers recognize they only live once and they want to make an impact in the lives that they live. They are committed to creating powerful and positive changes… Read More »
While industrial pollution is widespread in the modern world and affects everyone’s life, whether it influences the returns on stock investors is an important yet underexplored issue. In our recent paper, we attempt to examine why and how industrial pollution affects expected stock returns using both modeling and empirical approaches. Polluting firms may save costs… Read More »
Institutional investors are increasingly worried about their portfolios’ exposure to environmental risks. For example, heat waves cause a decrease in worker productivity, resulting in lower revenues and operating income, and the regulation of externalities, such as carbon pricing, affects the value of polluting firms. A global survey indicates institutional investors believe environmental risks have financial… Read More »
Are highly rated Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) firms more transparent about their risk exposures stemming from their activities abroad? Does investing in more highly rated ESG firms, i.e., those that are alleged to be more socially responsible, imply contributing to more socially responsible actions abroad? And does investing in such firms insulate one from… Read More »