Research

Working Papers

1. The Effect of CEO Climate Impact Awareness on Corporate Carbon Emissions, Job Market Paper

Best PhD Presenter Award at the 2023 FIRN Annual PhD Symposium

Summary: Firms led by CEOs with higher climate impact awareness have lower Scope 1 carbon intensity. This awareness is shaped during CEOs' impressionable years by two factors: experiences of extreme weather and scientific information about climate change. This paper shows the impact of CEOs' personal climate awareness on firm environmental policies, and emphasizes the critical role of the information in translating personal experiences into managerial behaviors. 

Presentation: 2024 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference, 2024 Sydney Banking and Financial Stability Conference, 2024 New Zealand Finance Meeting, 2024 Massey Sustainable Finance Conference, Asia-Pacific Corporate Finance Online Workshop (ACFOW) PhD Session, 2024 AFA PhD Poster Session, 2023 FIRN Annual PhD Symposium, 2023 FMA Doctoral Consortium, 2023 AFAANZ Doctoral Symposium, 2023 Shanghai-Edinburgh-London Green Finance Conference

2. Appointing Charity Directors in Response to ESG Incidents, with Marina Gertsberg and Hae Won (Henny) Jung

Revise & Resubmit at the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis

Summary: Firms respond to negative ESG incidents by appointing directors with experience in charities. The market reacts positively to these appointments of charity directors. Firms leverage charity directors' expertise to enhance ESG performance. Our study emphasizes the tangible value that charity-experienced directors bring to companies in addressing ESG concerns.

Presentations: 2024 Annual Conference on Asia-Pacific Financial Markets (CAFM)†, 2024 New Zealand Finance Meeting, 2024 FIRN Annual Meeting, 2024 FMA Annual Meeting, 2024 FMA European Conference, 2024 Finance Down Under Research Idea Session, 2023 Sydney Banking and Financial Stability Conference, 2023 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference, 2023 FIRN Women Annual Conference†, University of Queensland†, University of Melbourne, University of Western Australia (Economics)†, RMIT, Korea University-KAIST†

Media Coverage: Responsible Business Institute Insights

3. Environmental Risk and Investor Demands, with Chunxiao Lu and Linxiang Ma

Summary: Firm-level environmental regulatory risk affects stock prices via institutional investor demand, with preferences varying across institution types: banks, insurance companies, and pension funds prefer higher-risk firms, opposite to investment advisors and mutual funds.

Work in Progress

1. Politics and Institutional Investors' Voting Decisions, with Sheng Huang

2. Corporate Insider Disagreement, with Hae Won (Henny) Jung and Bryan Lim

† Presented by co-author