Séminaire NANCY – Gianfranco Gianfrate (EDHEC Business School)

Détails de l'événement :

!!! ANNULÉ !!!

“On the Resilience of ESG Firms during the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence across Countries and Asset Classes”

Abstract: Recent research shows that U.S. stocks with strong ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings outperformed during crisis periods such as the COVID-19 market crash. In an analysis spanning 63 countries and three asset classes (stocks, CDS, corporate bonds), we find that this apparent resilience is not a global phenomenon. Rather, it is limited to North America (where not only the stocks, but also the CDS and bonds of strong ESG firms outperformed during COVID-19. In general, such resilience is stronger for firms with poorer governance and in countries with lower social and environmental capital, pointing towards a potential substitution effect between firm-level and country-level social capital. Our findings indicate that the capacity of strong ESG firms to serve as “rainy day assets” is, at best, geography dependent.