Finance Webinar（2020-17)

Topic: Climate Fears and the Demand for Green Investment

Speaker: David T. Robinson, Duke University

Time: Wednesday, 21 October, 10:00-11:30 am Beijing Time

Location: Microsoft Teams Online Conference Room

Abstract:

Using a nationally representative survey linked to mandatory individual pension choices in Sweden, we connect extreme beliefs about future climate calamities to individual retirement portfolio rebalancing decisions. Extreme weather conditions in 2014 stimulated fear of future environmental calamities in some individuals, especially those more proximate to weather-related aberrations. After this heat wave, but not before, investors who think future climate catastrophes are very likely rebalanced their retirement portfolios to concentrate in mutual funds that tout social responsibility. These individuals also report that they recycle more than their neighbors, think green investments outperform, and are willing to pay higher fees for green mutual funds.

Introduction:

David Robinson is the James and Gail Vander Weide Professor of Finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he serves as the co-Director of the Entrepreneurship Working Group. He is on the academic advisory board of the Private Equity Research Consortium, which promotes empirical research in private equity, as well as stronger dialog between the academy and the practitioner community. His research has appeared in leading academic journals in finance and economics.

David earned an MBA and a PhD from the University of Chicago, an M.Sc. from the LSE, and a BA from the University of North Carolina. In 2016 he received an honorary doctorate from the Stockholm School of Economics, where he is the Erling Persson Visiting Professor.

Your participation is warmly welcomed!