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Backing away from ESG? The effect of sovereign rating downgrades on corporate sustainability

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  • Boumparis, Periklis
  • Florackis, Chris
  • Guedhami, Omrane
  • Sainani, Sushil

Abstract

We examine how sovereign rating downgrades affect firms' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies, leveraging the sovereign “ceiling” rule as a quasi-natural experiment that generates exogenous variation in corporate credit ratings. Under this rule, firms originally rated at or above the sovereign rating (bound firms) face a higher likelihood of downgrade following a sovereign downgrade. Using a difference-in-differences (DiD) setting, we find that bound firms experience a decline in ESG performance following a sovereign downgrade. This decline occurs only after the downgrade, not before, validating the parallel trends assumption. Our analysis further indicates that this effect is not driven by financing frictions and is concentrated in countries with a shareholder-centric orientation, and among firms with low institutional ownership from countries with strong social norms. Additional evidence suggests that affected firms experience an increase in ESG-related incidents, damaging their reputation post-downgrade. Overall, our findings underscore the crucial role of sovereign risk in shaping corporate sustainability practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Boumparis, Periklis & Florackis, Chris & Guedhami, Omrane & Sainani, Sushil, 2025. "Backing away from ESG? The effect of sovereign rating downgrades on corporate sustainability," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:94:y:2025:i:c:s0929119925001245
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2025.102856
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    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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