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作者：Li, Bin; Wang, Annika yu
作者单位：Vanderbilt University; University of Houston System; University of Houston
摘要：This paper investigates the role of corporate financial reports in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory activities. By tracking the EPA's direct retrieval of SEC filings, we identify three key findings. First, the EPA retrieves a large volume of financial reports, especially from firms in high-pollution industries. Second, the EPA is more likely to access financial reports during enforcement investigations and significant rule proposals, but less so during compliance monitori...
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作者：Li, Xuanbo; Lou, Yun; Zhang, Liandong
作者单位：City University of Hong Kong; Singapore Management University
摘要：We provide the first evidence that conflicts of interest arising from commercial ties lead to bias in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings. Using the acquisitions of Vigeo Eiris and RobecoSAM by Moody's and S&P as shocks to the commercial ties between ESG rating agencies and their rated firms, we show that, after their acquisitions by the credit rating agencies (CRAs), ESG rating agencies issue higher ratings to existing paying clients of the CRAs. This effect is greater for fir...
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作者：Lin, Yan; Shen, Rui; Wang, Jasmine; Yu, Y. Julia
作者单位：University of Macau; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; University of Virginia
摘要：We study environmental and social (E&S) disclosures in annual reports. Using the word embedding model to examine over 210,000 annual reports from 24,271 public firms in 30 international countries/regions between 2001 and 2020, we create an E&S dictionary that allows us to document trends in annual report E&S disclosure. Specifically, we find: (1) increases in length and boilerplate language and (2) decreases in specificity. Our results also suggest that E&S disclosure quality improves after th...
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作者：Friedman, Henry L.; Ormazabal, Gaizka
作者单位：University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
摘要：Interest in sustainability information, from investors, managers, researchers, and others, has been expanding rapidly. We discuss recent advances and open questions related to sustainability reporting and disclosure through the lens of a supply and demand framework. Our discussion builds on prior research on financial reporting and highlights unique aspects of the provision of sustainability information.
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作者：Baker, Andrew C.; Larcker, David F.; McClure, Charles G.; Saraph, Durgesh; Watts, Edward M.
作者单位：Stanford University; European Corporate Governance Institute; University of Chicago; Yale University
摘要：We provide large-sample evidence on whether U.S. publicly traded corporations use voluntary disclosures about their commitments to employee diversity opportunistically. We document significant discrepancies between companies' external stances on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their hiring practices. Firms that discuss DEI excessively relative to their actual employee gender and racial diversity (diversity washers) obtain superior scores from environmental, social, and governance (E...
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作者：Abraham, Jefferson; Olbert, Marcel; Vasvari, Florin
作者单位：University of London; London Business School
摘要：This paper offers the first systematic evidence on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures provided by a large global sample of private equity (PE) firms. Using historical websites from 2000 to 2022, we develop and validate a novel dictionary-based measure of voluntary PE firm ESG disclosures. Descriptive statistics reveal an increasing time trend in these disclosures, with social topics becoming as important as environmental topics recently. Multivariate analyses show that the...
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作者：Jiang, Yile (Anson)
作者单位：University of Hong Kong
摘要：This paper studies whether firms opportunistically make proprietary claims in mandatory environmental disclosure programs with trade secret exemption rules. Examining the mandatory chemical disclosure program in the fracking industry, I find evidence of opportunistic withholding of information among operators that are less likely to have trade secrets. Specifically, I find that these operators claim fewer chemicals as trade secrets when the operating site is in close proximity to water quality...
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作者：Lins, Karl V.; Roth, Lukas; Servaes, Henri; Tamayo, Ane
作者单位：Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah; University of Alberta; European Corporate Governance Institute; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; University of London; London Business School; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
摘要：During the revelation of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the reemergence of the #MeToo movement, firms with a nonsexist corporate culture, proxied by having women among the five highest-paid executives, earn excess returns of 1.3% relative to firms without female top executives. These returns are driven by changes in investor preferences toward firms with a nonsexist culture. Institutional ownership increases in firms with a nonsexist culture after the Weinstein/#MeToo events, particularly fo...
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作者：Krueger, Philipp; Sautner, Zacharias; Tang, Dragon Yongjun; Zhong, Rui
作者单位：University of Geneva; Swiss Finance Institute (SFI); University of Zurich; University of Hong Kong; University of Western Australia
摘要：We compile a novel data set on mandatory environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure around the world to analyze the stock liquidity effects of such disclosure mandates. We document a positive effect of ESG disclosure mandates on firm-level stock liquidity. The effects are strongest if the disclosure requirements are implemented by government institutions, not on a comply-or-explain basis, and coupled with strong enforcement by informal institutions. Firms with weaker information en...
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作者：Gibbons, Brian
作者单位：Oregon State University
摘要：Complaints from institutional investors suggest that principles-based disclosure regimes that rely on financial materiality standards produce inadequate nonfinancial environmental and social (E & S) information. Using the staggered introduction of 40 country-level regulations that mandate disclosure, I document that reporting E & S information relates to increased investment from institutional owners and has material effects on firms' investment and financing decisions. Firms mandated to discl...
