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Green investing and political behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Heeb, Florian
  • Kölbel, Julian
  • Ramelli, Stefano
  • Vasileva, Anna

Abstract

A fundamental concern about green investing is that it may crowd out political support for public policy addressing negative externalities. We examine this concern in a preregistered experiment shortly before a real referendum on a climate law with a representative sample of the Swiss population (N = 2,051). We find that the opportunity to invest in a climate-friendly fund does not reduce individuals' support for climate regulation, measured as political donations and voting intentions. The results hold for participants who actively choose green investing. We conclude that the effect of green investing on political behavior is limited.

Suggested Citation

  • Heeb, Florian & Kölbel, Julian & Ramelli, Stefano & Vasileva, Anna, 2024. "Green investing and political behavior," SAFE Working Paper Series 438, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:safewp:308044
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4484166
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Behavioral Finance; Climate Change; ESG; Externalities; Sustainable Finance; Political Economy; Voting Behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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