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Green Building, Cost of Equity Capital and Corporate Governance: Evidence from US Real Estate Investment Trusts

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  • Hui-Ching Hsieh

    (Institute of International Management, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 701, Taiwan)

  • Viona Claresta

    (Institute of International Management, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 701, Taiwan)

  • Thi Minh Ngoc Bui

    (Institute of International Management, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 701, Taiwan)

Abstract

Distinct from the existing literature, which mainly focuses on the impacts of green building practices on the owners’ benefits, this paper examines capital market participants’ perceptions of green building, specifically, the cost of equity capital. The study uses data regarding the United States Real Estate Investment Trusts (US REITs) from 2000 to 2016, employing a panel regression analysis and adopting a Price Earnings Growth (PEG) ratio model for the cost of equity capital estimation. We find a negative relationship between green building certification and the cost of equity capital. Our results encourage REITs to participate in green building certification and aim for higher green building rankings. In addition, we examine whether corporate governance could affect the intensity of green building practices in REITs. It is found that corporate governance practices implemented to align shareholders’ and managers’ interests, such as higher institutional holdings and a less dispersed ownership structure, positively impact firms’ resource allocation for green initiatives. The results suggest there could be mutual benefits for both economic profits and sustainable buildings.

Suggested Citation

  • Hui-Ching Hsieh & Viona Claresta & Thi Minh Ngoc Bui, 2020. "Green Building, Cost of Equity Capital and Corporate Governance: Evidence from US Real Estate Investment Trusts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3680-:d:353345
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    2. Francesca Bertoncelli & Paola Fandella & Emiliano Sironi, 2021. "The Relationship between Governance Quality and the Cost of Equity Capital in Italian Listed Firms: An Update," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Sayani Saha & Rahul B Hiremath & Sanjay Prasad & Bimlesh Kumar, 2021. "Barriers to Adoption of Commercial Green Buildings in India: A Review," Journal of Infrastructure Development, India Development Foundation, vol. 13(2), pages 107-128, December.
    4. Rekha Pillai & Husam-Aldin N. Al-Malkawi & M. Ishaq Bhatti, 2021. "Assessing Institutional Dynamics of Governance Compliance in Emerging Markets: The GCC Real Estate Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Prescott C. Ensign & Shawn Roy & Tom Brzustowski, 2021. "Decisions by Key Office Building Stakeholders to Build or Retrofit Green in Toronto’s Urban Core," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-31, June.
    6. Coën, Alain & Desfleurs, Aurélie, 2022. "The relative performance of green REITs: Evidence from financial analysts’ forecasts and abnormal returns," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    7. Ionaşcu Elena & Anghel Ion, 2020. "Improvement of the real estate transparency through digitalisation," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 371-384, July.
    8. Ioannis Vardopoulos & Ioannis Vannas & George Xydis & Constantinos Vassiliades, 2023. "Homeowners’ Perceptions of Renewable Energy and Market Value of Sustainable Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Odey Alshboul & Ali Shehadeh & Ghassan Almasabha & Ali Saeed Almuflih, 2022. "Extreme Gradient Boosting-Based Machine Learning Approach for Green Building Cost Prediction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-20, May.

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