Flight to Environmental, Social, and Governance Transparency: Evidence from Foreign Government Procurement Contracts
Dr. Yi XIANG
Research Assistant Professor
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Date: 13 October 2023 (Friday)
Time: 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: E22-G015
Host: Prof. Morris LIU, Associate Professor in Accounting
Online registration: https://umac.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eDro6TvdaNS5eFo
Abstract
This study examines whether improved environmental, social, and governance (ESG) transparency enhances firms’ competitiveness for foreign government procurement contracts. Exploiting the staggered adoption of mandatory ESG disclosure requirements across countries, we find that, following the ESG disclosure regulation, firms in the treated countries are more likely to receive foreign governments’ procurement contracts and contracts with higher values than their counterparts in the control countries. This effect is more pronounced for green contracts, suppliers with enhanced ESG disclosure quality after the mandatory ESG disclosure regulation, and purchasing governments exhibiting a higher degree of ESG consciousness. Moreover, the effect is stronger when suppliers face more intensive competition. Our findings shed light on the role of ESG transparency in contracting with foreign governments.
Speaker
Yi Xiang is a Research Assistant Professor in Accounting at the School of Accounting and Finance, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include ESG, financial accounting, auditing, and banking in the US and global financial markets.
Yi Xiang completed his Ph.D. in accounting at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2020 in Australia. Prior to his Ph.D., he obtained his master’s degree in professional accounting from UQ in 2014 and his bachelor’s degree in finance from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in 2012.
All are welcome!
