Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/250157 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
JRC Working Papers in Economics and Finance No. 2021/7
Publisher: 
European Commission, Ispra
Abstract: 
Using data on institutional investors' bond holdings, we investigate the resilience of green bonds to the COVID-19 shock in a difference-in-differences framework. We find that during the COVID outbreak green bonds experience lower sales, on average, while in normal times no significant differences emerge compared with conventional bonds. The result is robust across different investor classes and is not driven by those that have a longer-term investment horizon. Furthermore, we find that sustainability-oriented funds sell less of green bonds than their peers without sustainability concerns. We also document that the ownership of green fixed income securities is more concentrated than that of comparable conventional bonds, and that concentration has increased in the first quarter of 2020.
Subjects: 
Sustainable finance
climate change
green bonds
institutional investors
JEL: 
G12
G20
Q52
Q53
Q54
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.