IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/gunwpe/0376.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Stock returns in relation to environmental, social and governance performance: mispricing or compensation for risk?

Author

Listed:
  • Manescu, Cristiana

    (Center for Finance, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg)

Abstract

Using detailed data on seven environmental, social and governance (ESG) attributes for a long panel of large publicly traded U.S. rms during July 1992-June 2008, this study nds that only the community indicator has a positive impact on stock returns and furthermore this e ect is due to mispricing. Additionally, we document a changing e ect of employee relations from positive to negative between July 1992- June 2003 and July 2003- June 2008. The positive impact is found to be due to mispricing, but for the negative impact there is some weak evidence that it is compensation for low non-sustainability risk. A negative impact of human rights and product safety indicators on stock returns in the more recent period has also been found to be due to mispricing. The implications of this study are that certain ESG issues (employee relations in particular) could be priced as risk factors as soon as there is higher information availability for those ESG attributes.

Suggested Citation

  • Manescu, Cristiana, 2009. "Stock returns in relation to environmental, social and governance performance: mispricing or compensation for risk?," Working Papers in Economics 376, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 01 Mar 2010.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0376
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/20998
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jensen, Michael C, 1969. "Risk, The Pricing of Capital Assets, and the Evaluation of Investment Portfolios," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 167-247, April.
    2. Heinkel, Robert & Kraus, Alan & Zechner, Josef, 2001. "The Effect of Green Investment on Corporate Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 431-449, December.
    3. Leonardo Becchetti & Rocco Ciciretti, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Stock Market Performance," CEIS Research Paper 79, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 22 Mar 2006.
    4. Friend, Irwin & Blume, Marshall E, 1970. "Measurement of Portfolio Performance Under Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 60(4), pages 561-575, September.
    5. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    6. Renneboog, Luc & Ter Horst, Jenke & Zhang, Chendi, 2008. "Socially responsible investments: Institutional aspects, performance, and investor behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1723-1742, September.
    7. Bauer, Rob & Koedijk, Kees & Otten, Roger, 2005. "International evidence on ethical mutual fund performance and investment style," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1751-1767, July.
    8. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    9. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    10. Jegadeesh, Narasimhan & Titman, Sheridan, 1993. "Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-91, March.
    11. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    12. Galema, Rients & Plantinga, Auke & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "The stocks at stake: Return and risk in socially responsible investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2646-2654, December.
    13. Patten, Dennis M., 1990. "The market reaction to social responsibility disclosures: The case of the Sullivan principles signings," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 575-587.
    14. Kempf, Alexander & Osthoff, Peer, 2007. "The effect of socially responsible investing on portfolio performance," CFR Working Papers 06-10, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    15. Larry D. Wall, 1995. "Some lessons from basic finance for effective socially responsible investing," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 80(Jan), pages 1-12.
    16. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    17. Alexander Kempf & Peer Osthoff, 2007. "The Effect of Socially Responsible Investing on Portfolio Performance," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 13(5), pages 908-922, November.
    18. Glen Dowell & Stuart Hart & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Do Corporate Global Environmental Standards Create or Destroy Market Value?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(8), pages 1059-1074, August.
    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. Hajar Mouatassim Lahmini & Abdelmajid Ibenrissoul, 2017. "Quel effet de la Responsabilité Sociétale de l'Entreprise sur la performance financière d'un opérateur minier/ Approche par l'Analyse Coûts-Bénéfices," Post-Print hal-01746022, HAL.
    2. Cellier, Alexis & Chollet, Pierre, 2016. "The effects of social ratings on firm value," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 656-683.
    3. Shirasu, Yoko & Kawakita, Hidetaka, 2021. "Long-term financial performance of corporate social responsibility," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    4. Khine Kyaw & Steen Thomsen & Sirimon Treepongkaruna, 2022. "Firms' potential for economic sustainability and firm value: The moderating role of blockholders," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 884-901, October.
    5. Besbes Yasmine & Maher Kooli, 2022. "Smart beta ESG disclosure," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(7), pages 567-580, December.
    6. Asif Saeed & Qasim Zureigat, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade Credit and Financial Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Crifo, Patricia & Forget, Vanina D. & Teyssier, Sabrina, 2015. "The price of environmental, social and governance practice disclosure: An experiment with professional private equity investors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 168-194.
    8. Halbritter, Gerhard & Dorfleitner, Gregor, 2015. "The wages of social responsibility — where are they? A critical review of ESG investing," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 25-35.
    9. Billio, Monica & Costola, Michele & Hristova, Iva & Latino, Carmelo & Pelizzon, Loriana, 2022. "Sustainable finance: A journey toward ESG and climate risk," SAFE Working Paper Series 349, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    10. Marco Nicolosi & Stefano Grassi & Elena Stanghellini, 2011. "How to measure Corporate Social Responsibility," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 96/2011, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    11. Muñoz, Fernando, 2016. "Cash flow timing skills of socially responsible mutual fund investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 110-124.
    12. Julian Amon & Margarethe Rammerstorfer & Karl Weinmayer, 2021. "Environmental Portfolios—Evidence from Screening and Passive Portfolio Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-23, November.
    13. Ramzi Benkraiem & Sabri Boubaker & Asif Saeed, 2022. "How does corporate social responsibility engagement affect the information content of stock prices?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(5), pages 1266-1289, July.
    14. Hajar Mouatassim Lahmini, 2017. "Quels Avantages Et Couts De La Strategie Rse D’Un Operateur Minier Cote: Proposition D’Une Typologie," Post-Print hal-01609774, HAL.
    15. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    16. Zhang, Zhuang & Chizema, Amon & Kuo, Jing-Ming & Zhang, Qingjing, 2022. "Managerial risk-reducing incentives and social and exchange capital," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(6).
    17. Priyanka Aggarwal, 2013. "Sustainability Reporting and its Impact on Corporate Financial Performance: A Literature Review," Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, Educational Research Multimedia & Publications,India, vol. 4(3), pages 51-59, September.
    18. Gerhard Halbritter & Gregor Dorfleitner, 2015. "The wages of social responsibility — where are they? A critical review of ESG investing," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 25-35, September.
    19. Julian Amon & Margarethe Rammerstorfer & Karl Weinmayer, 2021. "Passive ESG Portfolio Management—The Benchmark Strategy for Socially Responsible Investors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    20. Hajar Mouatassim Lahmini & Abdelmajid Ibenrissoul, 2016. "Y a-t-il un impact de la RSE sur la performance financière de l'entreprise : Etude empirique sur les sociétés marocaines cotées à la bourse de Casablanca," Post-Print hal-01351951, HAL.
    21. Ming-Lang Tseng & Phan Anh Tan & Shiou-Yun Jeng & Chun-Wei Remen Lin & Yeneneh Tamirat Negash & Susilo Nur Aji Cokro Darsono, 2019. "Sustainable Investment: Interrelated among Corporate Governance, Economic Performance and Market Risks Using Investor Preference Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, April.
    22. S. Sudha, 2015. "Risk-return and Volatility analysis of Sustainability Index in India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 1329-1342, December.
    23. Adrian (Waikong) Cheung & May Hu & Jörg Schwiebert, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility and dividend policy," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(3), pages 787-816, September.

    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. Galema, Rients & Plantinga, Auke & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "The stocks at stake: Return and risk in socially responsible investment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2646-2654, December.
    2. Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio & Dam, Lammertjan, 2023. "The contributions of betas versus characteristics to the ESG premium," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 104-124.
    3. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio, 2018. "Fishing the Corporate Social Responsibility risk factors," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 25-48.
    4. Mollet, Janick Christian & Ziegler, Andreas, 2014. "Socially responsible investing and stock performance: New empirical evidence for the US and European stock markets," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 208-216.
    5. Urs von Arx & Andreas Ziegler, 2008. "The Effect of CSR on Stock Performance: New Evidence for the USA and Europe," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 08/85, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    6. Andreas G. F. Hoepner & Lisa Schopohl, 2018. "On the Price of Morals in Markets: An Empirical Study of the Swedish AP-Funds and the Norwegian Government Pension Fund," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 665-692, September.
    7. Janick Christian Mollet & Andreas Ziegler, 2014. "Socially responsible investing and stock performance: New empirical evidence for the US and European stock markets," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 208-216, November.
    8. Sebastian Lobe & Christian Walkshäusl, 2016. "Vice versus virtue investing around the world," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 303-344, March.
    9. Dan Daugaard, 2020. "Emerging new themes in environmental, social and governance investing: a systematic literature review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(2), pages 1501-1530, June.
    10. Benjamin R. Auer, 2016. "Do Socially Responsible Investment Policies Add or Destroy European Stock Portfolio Value?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 381-397, May.
    11. Halbritter, Gerhard & Dorfleitner, Gregor, 2015. "The wages of social responsibility — where are they? A critical review of ESG investing," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 25-35.
    12. Arnaud Gougler & Sebastian Utz, 2020. "Factor exposures and diversification: Are sustainably screened portfolios any different?," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 34(3), pages 221-249, September.
    13. Ziegler, Andreas & Busch, Timo & Hoffmann, Volker H., 2011. "Disclosed corporate responses to climate change and stock performance: An international empirical analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1283-1294.
    14. Dam, Lammertjan & Scholtens, Bert, 2015. "Toward a theory of responsible investing: On the economic foundations of corporate social responsibility," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 103-121.
    15. Urs von Arx & Andreas Ziegler, 2014. "The effect of corporate social responsibility on stock performance: new evidence for the USA and Europe," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(6), pages 977-991, June.
    16. Thomas Walker & Kerstin Lopatta & Thomas Kaspereit, 2014. "Corporate sustainability in asset pricing models and mutual funds performance measurement," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 28(4), pages 363-407, November.
    17. Costanza Torricelli & Beatrice Bertelli, 2022. "ESG screening strategies and portfolio performance: how do they fare in periods of financial distress?," Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza (CEFIN) (Center for Studies in Banking and Finance) 0087, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    18. Krüger, Philipp, 2015. "Corporate goodness and shareholder wealth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 304-329.
    19. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    20. Janusz Brzeszczyński & Graham McIntosh, 2014. "Performance of Portfolios Composed of British SRI Stocks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 120(3), pages 335-362, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    responsible investments; risk factor test; market efficiency; four factor model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hhs:gunwpe:0376. 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: Ann-Christin Räätäri Nyström (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/naiguse.html .

    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.