The PRI Academic Network Conference was hosted as part of PRI in Person on 4-5 October 2023. The event showcases the latest high-quality, independent evidence and insights in responsible investment practices. Bridging the gap between investors and academics, it offers a unique opportunity to engage, learn, and network.
The conference represents an integral part of the PRI’s longstanding support for fostering new research and a community of practice in RI, from which the latest ESG research can inform the investment practices, behaviours and systems.
To find out more about the PRI’s Academic Research programme and access past event papers, visit our ‘All academic network conference articles’ page.
Please find the recordings and papers for each day below.
Wednesday, 4 October
Breakout 1C: Climate risks and investing
Session Chair: Caroline Flammer (Columbia University, NBER, and ECGI)
Paper 1: Counterproductive Sustainable Investing: The Impact Elasticity of Brown and Green Firms
Authors:
- Samuel M. Hartzmark (Boston College and NBER)
- Kelly Shue (Yale University and NBER)
Academic discussant: Hao Liang (Singapore Management University, and ECGI)
Practitioner Discussant: Andy Howard (Global Head of Sustainable Investment at Schroders)
Paper 2: What Drives Beliefs about Climate Risks? Evidence from Financial Analysts
Author:
- Matilde Faralli (Imperial College London)
Academic Discussant: Darwin Choi (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Practitioner Discussant: Martin Skancke (Chair of the PRI Board)
Breakout 2C: Firms and Corporate Political Activities
Session Chair: Pedro Matos (University of Virginia and ECGI)
Paper 3: Investing in Influence: Investors, Portfolio Firms, and Political Giving
Authors:
- Marianne Bertrand (University of Chicago, ECGI, NBER, and CEPR)
- Matilde Bombardini (UC Berkeley, NBER, and CEPR)
- Raymond Fisman (Boston University and NBER)
- Francesco Trebbi (UC Berkeley, NBER, and CEPR)
- Eyub Yegen (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
Paper 4: Do Socially Responsible Firms Pay Taxes? CSR and Effective Tax Rates
Authors:
- Bruce G. Carruthers (Northwestern University)
- Brayden G. King (Northwestern University)
- Andrew Owen (Northwestern University)
Academic Discussant: Xavier Giroud (Columbia University, NBER and CEPR)
Practitioner Discussant: Emma Pullman (Head of Capital Stewardship at BC General Employees’ Union)
Breakout 3C: Diversity, equity, and inclusiveness
Session Chair: Ayako Yasuda (UC Davis)
Paper 5: Empowering Women by Index Membership: Evidence from a Unique Experiment from Japan
Authors:
- Vikas Mehrotra (University of Alberta)
- Lukas Roth (University of Alberta and ECGI)
- Yusuke Tsujimoto (University of Alberta)
- Yupana Wiwattanakantang (National University of Singapore and ECGI)
Academic Discussant: Shaun Davies (University of Colorado Boulder)
Practitioner Discussant: Kaoru Kobu (Head of ESG at Invesco Asset Management Japan)
Paper 6: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Authors:
- Alex Edmans (London Business School, CEPR, and ECGI)
- Caroline Flammer (Columbia University, NBER, and ECGI)
- Simon Glossner (Federal Reserve Board)
Academic Discussant: Kai Li (University of British Columbia, and ECGI)
Practitioner Discussant: Yumiko Murakami (General Partner at MPower Partners)
Thursday, 5 October
Breakout 4C: Governance and incentives
Session Chair: Pedro Matos (University of Virginia and ECGI)
Paper 7: Does Paying Passive Managers to Engage Improve ESG Performance?
Authors:
- Marco Becht (Université libre de Bruxelles, CEPR, and ECGI)
- Julian Franks (London Business School, CEPR, and ECGI)
- Hideaki Miyajima (Waseda University and RIETI)
- Kazunori Suzuki (Waseda University and ECGI)
Academic Discussant: Jun Yang (Indiana University, and ECGI)
Practitioner Discussant: Marie Briere (Head of Investor Intelligence and Academic Partnerships at AMUNDI Institute)
Paper 8: Foreign Institutional Ownership and Corporate Carbon Emissions
Authors:
- Jie (Jay) Cao (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
- Xintong (Eunice) Zhan (Fudan University)
- Weiming (Elaine) Zhang (IE Business School)
- Yaojia (Zoe) Zhang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Academic Discussant: Miguel Ferreira (Nova School of Business and Economics, and ECGI)
Practitioner Discussant: Lloyd Kurtz (Senior Portfolio Manager at Montecito Bank & Trust)
Breakout 5C: Towards system-level investing
Session Chair: Caroline Flammer (Columbia University, NBER, and ECGI)
Paper 9: Institutional Investor Industrial Policy
Authors:
- Madison Condon (Boston University)
Academic Discussant: Ben Caldecott (GRASFI, The Alan Turing Institute, University of Oxford)
Practitioner Discussant: Linda-Eling Lee (Founding Director and Head, MSCI Sustainability Institute)
Paper 10: Collaborative Investor Engagement with Policymakers: Changing the Rules of the Game?
Authors:
- Camila Yamahaki (FGV EAESP)
- Catherine Marchewitz (DIW Berlin)
Academic Discussant: Naoko Ishii (University of Tokyo)
Practitioner Discussant: Jason Mitchell (Head of Responsible Investment Research at Man Group)
We would like to thank our Academic Prize Sponsor and our Bursary Sponsor.
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