Montagnoli, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-8260-4531 and Taylor, K. (2024) Who cares about investing responsibly? Attitudes and financial decisions. Working Paper. Sheffield Economic Research Paper Series, 2024010 (2024010). Department of Economics, University of Sheffield ISSN 1749-8368
Abstract
The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we investigate the determinants of individual’s attitudes towards investing responsibly, based upon Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations. Secondly, we look at how important ESG considerations are, over and above socio-economic characteristics including financial literacy and risk attitudes, in explaining whether individuals hold shares and/or equity, and the amount invested in financial assets. Using the UK Financial Lives Survey data which is collected by the Financial Conduct Authority, our analysis reveals that, firstly, individual characteristics have little explanatory power in terms of explaining responsible investments, except for: education; gender; age; and financial literacy. Secondly, those individuals who are interested in future responsible invest- ments are approximately 7 percentage points more likely to hold shares/equity, and have around 77% more money invested in financial assets (i.e. just under twice the amount). We also undertake several sensitivity checks, including the role of selection on unobservables and the extent to which the exogeneity assumption regarding interest in future responsible investments can be relaxed, as well as matching estimation techniques to move beyond mere statistical associations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Monograph |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). For reuse permissions, please contact the Author(s). The Sheffield Economic Research Paper Series (SERPS) offers a forum for the research output of the Department of Economics, University of Sheffield. Papers are reviewed for quality and presentation by two internal referees and a departmental editor. However, the contents and opinions expressed remain the responsibility of the author(s). Comments are welcomed and should be addressed to the individual author(s). |
Keywords: | ESG Attitudes; Financial Literacy; Portfolio Investment |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Economics (Sheffield) > Sheffield Economics Research Papers Series The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Economics (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 31 Oct 2024 09:56 |
Last Modified: | 31 Oct 2024 09:58 |
Published Version: | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/economics/research/ser... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Department of Economics, University of Sheffield |
Series Name: | Sheffield Economic Research Paper Series |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:219025 |