Corporate Green Bonds, Stock Reactions, and Corporate Financial Performance in the U.S.
| dc.contributor.advisor | Wilson, Craig | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Yang, Fan | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Maung, Min | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Tannous, George | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Fox, Kenneth | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Mishra, Dev | |
| dc.creator | Li, Woyang | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-02-29T14:40:34Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-02-29T14:40:34Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2024 | |
| dc.date.created | 2024-02 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-02-29 | |
| dc.date.submitted | February 2024 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2024-02-29T14:40:34Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | The rapid growth of green bonds highlights their increasing use as a financing tool for eco-friendly projects in response to the global environmental crisis and societal demand for sustainability. Our study, utilizing data from Bloomberg and the WRDS database, examines the relationship between U.S. companies’ green bond issuance over the past decade, its impact on stock market responses, and corporate performance to identify the driving forces behind such issuance. Our findings show that green bonds exert minimal impact on both short-term and long-term stock market reactions and investment returns. Interestingly, companies with lower environmental scores saw benefits in the form of positive firm valuations. This indicates profit maximization remains a dominant force in the U.S. investment landscape. The divergent expected firm values between non-financial and financial sectors suggest signaling theory as the primary motivator behind issuing green bonds. However, this trend, which allows companies who have lower ESG environmental scores or in non-financial sectors to reap greater benefits with minimal investment, could inadvertently promote greenwashing for issuers in these certain groups. This issue is tied to the current stage of development in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices and related financial tools. The rapid growth of ESG activities, including green bond issuance, juxtaposed with the sluggish evolution of national policies, could potentially encourage greenwashing activities. Despite employing various methods to minimize biases, the limitations in sample size prevent us from entirely eliminating all potential influences. Therefore, further development in the corporate green bond market in the U.S. would help for researchers to get more comprehensive and reliable results. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10388/15505 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.subject | Corporate Green Bonds | |
| dc.subject | Stock Reactions | |
| dc.subject | Corporate Performance | |
| dc.subject | Signaling | |
| dc.subject | Greenwashing | |
| dc.subject | ESG Environmental Score | |
| dc.subject | Non-financial/financial Industries | |
| dc.title | Corporate Green Bonds, Stock Reactions, and Corporate Financial Performance in the U.S. | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Finance | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Finance | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.Sc.) |