How does world economic policy uncertainty influence the carbon dioxide emission reporting and performance? Study of Fortune Global 500 firms.

This study contributes significantly to the field by utilising the World Economic Policy Uncertainty (WEPU) Index, as devised by (Ahir in Nat Bureau Econ Res 2022), to scrutinise its impact on carbon dioxide emission reporting and performance. Employing the generalised method of moments (GMM) on a substantial dataset of 604 Fortune Global 500 firms spanning from 2005 to 2020, our analysis reveals crucial insights. The research elucidates the dual influence of WEPU Index: a positive correlation with carbon dioxide emission reporting and a negative correlation aimed at mitigating adverse effects and promoting sustainable practices, thereby enhancing firm trust. Moreover, the findings shed light on how companies in emission-intensive industries tend to ramp up carbon dioxide emission reporting, potentially to bolster investor confidence, particularly during high WEPU Index periods. Furthermore, this study uncovers a compelling association between high emitters and lowered carbon dioxide emission performance, stemming from political and social pressures to integrate environmental considerations. Notably, this pressure intensifies during periods of increased WEPU Index. The empirical results presented in this study carry immediate practical implications. Specifically, they offer valuable insights for regulatory bodies and industry associations, guiding the development of enhanced environmental and social reporting regulations and guidelines, particularly concerning carbon emission reporting and performance.

Risk aversion connectedness in developed and emerging equity markets before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study investigates the dynamic connectedness across the variance risk premium in international developed and emerging equity markets based on a Bayesian time-varying parameter vector autoregressive methodology. The empirical results indicate that the total spillover index is on average 65.6%, indicating a high, albeit declining, level of interconnectedness across the investor sentiment in the three markets under review until early 2020. Following the COVID-19 outbreak though, the total investors' risk aversion connectedness - as expected - strengthens, but more importantly, its dynamics alter, indicating that the risk aversion of emerging markets is an important contributor to the connectedness of international markets.