In this article, we quantify the demand for sustainability at the sovereign level. We do so by estimating a longitudinal model, at the issue level, that captures net demand in sovereign ESG factors for both equity and fixed income markets. In spite of the surging interest in ethical investing,...

Many governments have started issuing 'green' bonds tied to expenditures on projects with environmental objectives such as climate change mitigation. While well-intentioned, issuance of a green bond by an investment-grade sovereign has no environmental impact, leaves funding costs unchanged,...

In the 1990s, the importance of international rating agencies became more pronounced among stakeholders who were interested in screening companies based on specific financial criteria. Now with a focus on sustainability, stakeholders are interested in screening companies on both financial and...

We study the relation between a country's performance on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its sovereign bond spread. Using a novel country-level SDG measure for a global sample of countries, we find a significantly negative relation between SDG performance and credit...

A sovereign green bond presents countries with an opportunity to demonstrate national leadership in the green financing agenda while giving exposure to a new investor base and solidifying a country's commitment to complying with the Paris Climate Change Agreement. While green bonds allow...