The resilience of green firms in the twirl of COVID-19: Evidence from S&P500 Carbon Efficiency Index with a Fourier approach

Abstract

This paper investigates the resilience of environmentally friendly companies in an overwhelming economic and social environment that has been generated after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. To this respect, we have investigated the cointegration between the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Carbon Efficiency Index (CEI) with COVID-19 cases, supplemented with covariates such as government response stringency to the pandemic, economic policy uncertainty, oil prices and global markets fluctuations. We have used daily data from 2nd January to 5th October 2020 and have employed a robust estimator within a Fourier approach to accommodate both sharp and smooth breaks. Our results suggest that green companies have been positively affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. Our paper provides practical implications for companies that wish to furnish themselves with resilience during rough times and stakeholders who wish to invest in safe, long-lasting returns. © 2021 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.