IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/finmar/v32y2023i2p23-50.html

Resilience of Environmental and Social Stocks under Stress: Lessons from the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Pejman Abedifar
  • Kais Bouslah
  • Christopher Neumann
  • Amine Tarazi

Abstract

This paper examines whether environmental and social (ES) activities affect the resiliency of firms during the COVID‐19 crisis. We study a sample of 330 firms operating in five developed countries: Canada, France, Japan, the UK and the US. Our analysis shows that US firms with a high ES ranking experienced a significantly lower stock price range volatility during the Covid stock market rundown of February‐March 2020. Such findings also hold for Japanese firms but only later on after the introduction of government support. In terms of returns, compared to their peers with a low ES ranking, Japanese and UK stock prices with a high ES ranking suffered more during and after the market rundown. For other countries, we do not find significant differences in stock price behavior based on ES ratings. Our findings suggest that engaging with ES activities is not associated with a better or worse performance during crisis times, which has important implications for investors and managers.

Suggested Citation

  • Pejman Abedifar & Kais Bouslah & Christopher Neumann & Amine Tarazi, 2023. "Resilience of Environmental and Social Stocks under Stress: Lessons from the COVID‐19 Pandemic," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(2), pages 23-50, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:finmar:v:32:y:2023:i:2:p:23-50
    DOI: 10.1111/fmii.12166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/fmii.12166
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/fmii.12166?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gerda Barauskaite & Dalia Streimikiene, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance of companies: The puzzle of concepts, definitions and assessment methods," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 278-287, January.
    2. Ľuboš Pástor & M Blair Vorsatz & Jeffrey Pontiff, 0. "Mutual Fund Performance and Flows during the COVID-19 Crisis," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 791-833.
    3. Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2008. "Firm performance: the interactions of corporate social performance with innovation and industry differentiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 781-789, July.
    4. Paul Lanoie, 2008. "When And Why Does It Pay To Be Green?," CIRANO Papers 2008n-02a, CIRANO.
    5. Stefano Ramelli & Alexander F Wagner, 2020. "Feverish Stock Price Reactions to COVID-19," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 622-655.
    6. Kanamura, Takashi, 2021. "Risk Mitigation and Return Resilience for High Yield Bond ETFs with ESG Components," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    7. Umar, Zaghum & Kenourgios, Dimitris & Papathanasiou, Sypros, 2020. "The static and dynamic connectedness of environmental, social, and governance investments: International evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 112-124.
    8. Philipp Baier & Marc Berninger & Florian Kiesel, 2020. "Environmental, social and governance reporting in annual reports: A textual analysis," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 93-118, August.
    9. Clarkson, Peter M. & Li, Yue & Richardson, Gordon D. & Vasvari, Florin P., 2011. "Does it really pay to be green? Determinants and consequences of proactive environmental strategies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 122-144, March.
    10. Omura, Akihiro & Roca, Eduardo & Nakai, Miwa, 2021. "Does responsible investing pay during economic downturns: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    11. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjo Koskinen & Shuai Yang & Chendi Zhang, 2020. "Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks: An Analysis of the Exogenous COVID-19 Market Crash," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 593-621.
    12. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjö Koskinen & Chendi Zhang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(10), pages 4451-4469, October.
    13. Díaz, Violeta & Ibrushi, Denada & Zhao, Jialin, 2021. "Reconsidering systematic factors during the Covid-19 pandemic – The rising importance of ESG," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    14. Leonardo Becchetti & Rocco Ciciretti, 2009. "Corporate social responsibility and stock market performance," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(16), pages 1283-1293.
    15. Kais Bouslah & Lawrence Kryzanowski & Bouchra M’Zali, 2018. "Social Performance and Firm Risk: Impact of the Financial Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 643-669, May.
    16. Florian Kiesel & Felix Lücke, 2019. "ESG in credit ratings and the impact on financial markets," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 263-290, August.
    17. Zaghum Umar & Mariya Gubareva, 2021. "The relationship between the Covid-19 media coverage and the Environmental, Social and Governance leaders equity volatility: a time-frequency wavelet analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(27), pages 3193-3206, June.
    18. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    19. Yoo, Sunbin & Keeley, Alexander Ryota & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Does sustainability activities performance matter during financial crises? Investigating the case of COVID-19," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    20. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    21. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "Trusting the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2557-2600, December.
    22. Takahashi, Hidenori & Yamada, Kazuo, 2021. "When the Japanese stock market meets COVID-19: Impact of ownership, China and US exposure, and ESG channels," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ahmed, Ijaz & Khan, Mushtaq Hussain, 2026. "Crypto-contagion and capital flows: Interconnectedness across emerging and traditional cryptocurrencies, ethical equities, and regional markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    2. Ben Ameur, Hachmi & Ftiti, Zied & Louhichi, Wael, 2025. "Do ESG investments improve portfolio diversification and risk management during times of uncertainty," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Faure, Cédric & Nys, Emmanuelle & Tarazi, Amine, 2025. "Subcategories of ESG controversies and firm value," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fariha Jahan & Jungmu Kim, 2023. "Does the Shield Effect of CSR Work in Crises? Evidence in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Ding, Wenzhi & Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2021. "Corporate immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 802-830.
    3. Gen‐Fu Feng & Han Long & Hai‐Jie Wang & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2022. "Environmental, social and governance, corporate social responsibility, and stock returns: What are the short‐ and long‐Run relationships?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1884-1895, September.
    4. Eisenkopf, Jana & Juranek, Steffen & Walz, Uwe, 2021. "Responsible investment and stock market shocks: Short-term insurance and persistent outperformance post-crisis?," SAFE Working Paper Series 329, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    5. Riccardo Savio & Edoardo D’Andrassi & Francesca Ventimiglia, 2023. "A Systematic Literature Review on ESG during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    6. Angelidis, Timotheos & Michairinas, Athanasios & Sakkas, Athanasios, 2024. "World ESG performance and economic activity," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Yang, Yuchuan & Du, Kerui, 2024. "Impact of CSR on stock return resilience during the 2020 public health emergency: Evidence from the Chinese financial market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    8. Wang, Shaolin & Cheng, Ho Cheung & Wang, Jianli & Yick, Ho Yin, 2025. "The performance of ESG portfolios: Evidence from the Chinese market under COVID-19," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    9. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Yi, Yuyang & Zhang, Zongyi & Xiang, Cheng, 2022. "The value of CSR during the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from Chinese firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    11. Chiaramonte, Laura & Dreassi, Alberto & Girardone, Claudia & Piserà, Stefano, 2024. "Socially responsible banking: Weathering the Covid-19 storm," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    12. Imran, Zulfiqar Ali & Ahad, Muhammad & Shahzad, Khurram & Ahmad, Mobeen & Hameed, Imran, 2024. "Safe haven properties of industrial stocks against ESG in the United States: Portfolio implication for sustainable investments," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    13. Nils Engelhardt & Jens Ekkenga & Peter Posch, 2021. "ESG Ratings and Stock Performance during the COVID-19 Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, June.
    14. Andrea Jacob & Martin Nerlinger, 2021. "Investors’ Delight? Climate Risk in Stock Valuation during COVID-19 and Beyond," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    15. Chune Young Chung & Incheol Kim & Rong Yang, 2025. "Are Environmentally Sensitive Firms More Likely to Release Corporate Environmental Disclosures? Evidence From Environmental Risk Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3338-3359, March.
    16. Neetu Yadav & Vandana Bhama, 2023. "Sustainability, Resilience, and Returns During COVID-19: Empirical Evidence from US and Indian Stock Markets," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 22(2), pages 215-238, June.
    17. Xin Xu & Yi Xie & Feng Xiong & Yan Li, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Investors’ Investment Intention of Sustainability-Related Investment: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-37, April.
    18. Staněk Gyönyör, Lucie & Horváth, Matúš, 2024. "Does ESG affect stock market dependence? An empirical exploration of S&P 1200 companies shows the divergent nature of E–S–G pillars," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    19. Liu, Lian & Nemoto, Naoko & Lu, Changrong, 2023. "The Effect of ESG performance on the stock market during the COVID-19 Pandemic — Evidence from Japan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 702-712.
    20. Meyer, Julia, 2024. "Willingness to take risks for sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:finmar:v:32:y:2023:i:2:p:23-50. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.