Love in the Time of COVID-19: The Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks

32 Pages Posted: 8 May 2020

See all articles by Rui A. Albuquerque

Rui A. Albuquerque

Boston College, Carroll School of Management; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Yrjo Koskinen

Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Shuai Yang

University of Calgary - Haskayne School of Business

Chendi Zhang

University of Exeter Business School

Date Written: April 2020

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown brought about a massive slowdown of the economy and an unparalleled stock market crash. Using U.S. data, this paper explores how firms with high Environmental and Social (ES) ratings fare during the first quarter of 2020 compared to other firms. We show that stocks with high ES ratings have significantly higher returns, lower return volatilities, and higher trading volumes than other stocks. Firms with high ES ratings and high advertising expenditures perform especially well during the crash. This paper highlights the importance of ES policies in making firms more resilient during a time of crisis.

Keywords: COVID-19, Customer loyalty, ESG, market crash, Stock returns, trading volume, volatility

JEL Classification: G12, G32, M14

Suggested Citation

Albuquerque, Rui A. and Koskinen, Yrjo J and Yang, Shuai and Zhang, Chendi, Love in the Time of COVID-19: The Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks (April 2020). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP14661, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3594293

Rui A. Albuquerque (Contact Author)

Boston College, Carroll School of Management ( email )

140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3808
United States

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/view/ruialbuquerque/home

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Yrjo J Koskinen

Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary ( email )

SH 154, 2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Canada
+1-403-220-5540 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/yrjo-koskinen

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://https://ecgi.global/users/yrj%C3%B6-koskinen

Shuai Yang

University of Calgary - Haskayne School of Business ( email )

2500 University Drive, NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Canada

Chendi Zhang

University of Exeter Business School ( email )

Streatham Court
Xfi Building, Rennes Dr.
Exeter, EX4 4JH
United Kingdom

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