NHH Brage (Norges Handelshøyskole)
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Er bærekraft god butikk? En studie av sammenhengen mellom bærekraft og lønnsomhet for børsnoterte selskaper i Europa og USA
Get PDFI en æra hvor bærekraftig utvikling utgjør en fundamental del av bedrifters strategier globalt, tar denne masterutredningen for seg debatten om bærekraftens innvirkning på selskapers lønnsomhet. Med bakgrunn i stadig strengere miljøregelverk og en voksende forventning om samfunnsansvar, undersøker vi om det eksisterer en positiv sammenheng mellom selskapers bærekraftige initiativer og deres lønnsomhet. Spesifikt adresserer vi forskningsspørsmålet:
«Er det en positiv sammenheng mellom selskapenes initiativrike bærekraftstrategi og deres lønnsomhet, og hvilken rolle spiller uenighet blant ESG-scorene?»
Vår utredning benytter en Fixed Effects-modell for å vurdere forholdet mellom ESG-score – som står for Environmental, Social & Governance – og lønnsomhet, primært målt ved Return on Assets (ROA) og sekundært ved Tobins Q. Studien er avgrenset til børsnoterte selskaper i Europa og USA, med data fra 2014 til 2022 innhentet fra databasene Eikon og Bloomberg. For å ta hensyn til simultan kausalitet, baserer analysen vår seg på ESG-data fra 2014 til 2021 og øvrige variabler fra 2015 til 2022. Vi utforsker forskningsspørsmålet gjennom to hypoteser og fem regresjonsmodeller, som testes i statistikkprogramvaren Stata.
Funnene indikerer at mens ESG-scorer ikke viser en signifikant sammenheng med ROA isolert sett, avdekker vi en signifikant positiv sammenheng av Environment- og Governance-pilarene på ROA. Dette understøtter interessentteorien om at det å inkludere et bredere spekter av interessenter kan være lønnsomt. Vår analyse antyder at uenighet i ESG-scorer kan ha en positiv effekt på ROA, som i sin tur igjen kan resultere i at mangfold i vurderinger bidrar til økt lønnsomhet. Videre finner vi en signifikant positiv sammenheng mellom ESG og ROA ved å inkludere interaksjonsvariabelen ESG*gjeldsgrad. For Tobins Q avslører resultatene en positiv sammenheng med ESG-scorer, noe som videre styrker interessentteorien av Freeman (1984).
Disse innsiktene åpner for en dypere forståelse av bærekraft og lønnsomhet, og de understreker at bærekraftige strategier potensielt kan fremme økonomisk gevinst. Men de viser også til at tolkningen av lønnsomhet og den valgte metodologiske tilnærmingen er avgjørende faktorer. I lys av disse funnene oppfordrer vi til videre forskning som kan utdype forståelsen av de varierte konsekvensene av bærekraftige investeringer i ulike industrielle og geografiske kontekster.In an era where sustainable development constitutes a fundamental part of corporate strategies globally, this master's thesis addresses the debate on the impact of sustainability on corporate profitability. Against a backdrop of increasingly stringent environmental regulations and growing expectations of corporate social responsibility, we investigate whether there is a positive correlation between companies' sustainable initiatives and their profitability. Specifically, we address the research question:
«Is there a positive correlation between companies' proactive sustainability strategy and their profitability, and what role does disagreement among ESG scores play?»
Our thesis employs a Fixed Effects model to assess the relationship between ESG scores – Environmental, Social & Governance – and profitability, primarily measured by Return on Assets (ROA) and secondarily by Tobin's Q. The study is limited to publicly listed companies in Europe and the USA, with data from 2014 to 2022 gathered from the Eikon and Bloomberg databases. To account for simultaneous causality, our analysis is based on ESG data from 2014 to 2021 and other variables from 2015 to 2022. We explore the research question through two hypotheses and five regression models, tested in the statistical software Stata.
Our findings indicate that while ESG scores do not show a significant correlation with ROA in isolation, we uncover a significant positive relationship of the E- and G-pillars on ROA. This supports the stakeholder theory that including a wider spectrum of stakeholders can be profitable. Our analysis suggests that disagreement in ESG scores may have a positive effect on ROA, which in turn may result in diversity of assessments contributing to increased profitability. Furthermore, we find a significant positive relationship between ESG and ROA by including the interaction variable ESG*debt ratio. For Tobin's Q, the results reveal a positive correlation with ESG scores, further reinforcing Freeman's stakeholder theory (1984).
These insights open a deeper understanding of sustainability and profitability, and they underscore that sustainable strategies can potentially promote economic gain. However, they also point out that the interpretation of profitability and the chosen methodological approach are critical factors. Considering these findings, we encourage further research that can deepen the understanding of the varied consequences of sustainable investments in different industrial and geographical contexts.nhhma
Cost Drivers in the European Airline Industry : An empirical analysis on factors influencing cost per flight
Get PDFThe airline industry is fiercely competitive, with companies striving to earn good profits.
One crucial factor in achieving this is reducing costs, which can be achieved through
structured performance management that identifies all cost drivers. Zuidbergs' 2014
article on airline cost economies explored the impact of cost drivers on various airlines
globally. This thesis continues his research, focusing on the European market. Financial
and operational data from quarterly reports between 2015-2019 and traffic data from
the same period constitute the regression analysis's foundation. The findings largely
support Zuidberg's, with some exceptions. One significant result is that fleet commonality
length significantly reduce the cost per flight, which agrees with Zuidberg. The cost per
flight is positively correlated with the average stage length, but the increase in cost is
proportionally lower than the increase in stage length, which is contradictory to what
Zuidberg found in his study. We also found that a higher load factor results in lower costs
per flight, which Zuideberg did not find any evidence of. These three results suggest that
(l) it's preferable to have a homogeneous fleet, (2) economies of stage length exist, and (3)
that high load factor possibly is a reflection of optimized use of the fleet to meet demand.
Future research can include revenue, and/or incorporate non-cost-related characteristics.
Furthermore, to enhance the analysis, future research should aim to distinguish airlines
quantitatively rather than relying solely on qualitative assessments which has been the
method for this thesis.nhhma
Aggregert netto pengestrøm til norske aksjefond og markedsavkastning i Norge : En empirisk analyse av forholdet mellom aggregert netto pengestrøm til norske aksjefond og markedsavkastning i Norge
Get PDFDenne masteroppgaven analyserer forholdet mellom netto flow til fond og avkastning på
makronivå i Norge i perioden januar 2010 til desember 2022. Hensikten med oppgaven har
vært todelt: ( 1) analysere om aggregert netto flow til norske aksjefond skaper
etterspørselsdrevne priseffekter i markedsavkastningen i Norge, og (2) om
markedsavkastningen i Norge påvirker aggregert netto flow til norske aksjefond. Analysen er
delt inn i to deler hvor vi først analyserer det totale aksjefondsmarkedet, før vi videre
undersøker forskjellen mellom det aktive og passive aksjefondsmarkedet.
Forholdet er analysert ved å benytte impuls-respons funksjoner utledet fra vektorautoregressive
(VAR) modeller og lineære regresjonsmodeller som kontrollerer for
økonomiske variabler som representerer ny informasjon. Vi deler aggregert netto flow inn i
en forventet og uforventet del. Resultatene for det totale aksjefondsmarkedet indikerer at
hverken forventet eller uforventet aggregert netto flow skaper etterspørselsdrevne priseffekter
i markedsavkastningen i Norge. Derimot finner vi at både forventet og uforventet aggregert
netto flow reduseres som følge av en økning i tidligere markedsavkastning. Når vi skiller
mellom det aktive og passive aksjefondsmarkedet, finner vi ingen forskjell mellom
påvirkningen aggregert netto flow til aktive og passive fond har på markedsavkastningen.
Hverken aggregert netto flow til aktive eller passive fond skaper etterspørselsdrevne
priseffekter. Videre indikerer resultatene at det kun er aggregert netto flow til passive fond
som påvirkes av tidligere markedsavkastning. Vi finner ingen signifikante bevis som tilsier at
tilsvarende gjelder for det aktive aksjefondsmarkedet i Norge.nhhma
The Impact of Integrating Sustainability and Country of Origin in Export Branding on the Willingness to Pay for Norwegian Salmon
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Hotelling Under Injected Pressure : An empirical study on the price responsiveness of waterflooding in US oil production
Get PDFHarold Hotelling's (1931) canonical model of exhaustible resource extraction, featuring
resource-owners that maximize profits by trading off extraction today versus extraction in the
future, is widely cited in the literature. However, the mapping of Hotelling's logic to empirical
work in the energy literature has been a limited success. To bridge this gap, Anderson, Kellogg
& Salant (2018) aim to show that a Hotelling model for oil production and drilling can generate
empirical predictions consistent with market observables. They find well-level oil production
(the intensive margin) in Texas to be unresponsive to the oil price, while drilling activity (the
extensive margin) responds strongly. Hence, they reformulate Hotelling's model as a drilling
problem where resource-owners choose when to drill, but the oil flow is restricted by reservoir
pressure. Our thesis aims to contribute to the literature by showing that resource-owners in
fact do manipulate oil production on the intensive margin by injecting water to increase
reservoir pressure.
We first graphically analyze how oil production and the drilling of new wells respond to crude
oil prices in the US between 2000 and 2020. We find that production declines monotonically
over time for a stock of existing wells and that firms respond to increasing crude oil prices by
drilling new production- and water injection wells. These findings are in line with current
literature. However, we also find that the oil production curves for wells that have injection
wells nearby do not decline monotonically.
We then proceed to develop an expression for the marginal cost of water injection and a
function for optimal water injection volumes. Using this function, we estimate a fixed-effect
linear regression model and find that water injection volume responds to oil prices, adding to
the current economic literature. Our findings indicate that firms leverage their ability to
manipulate oil production on the intensive margin by injecting water in response to oil prices.
The evidence contradicts a central assumption made in the model proposed by Anderson,
Kellogg & Salant (2018).nhhma
Institutional Ownership and ESG Performance : How does Norges Bank Investment Management impact the ESG performance of firms in its equity portfolio?
Get PDFThis paper assesses whether institutional ownership impacts the environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) performance of firms worldwide. To study this issue, we analyze financial
metrics and ESG scores on 5444 companies owned by the Government Pension Fund Global
managed by Norges Bank Investment Management. Our findings reveal that the ESG score of
companies owned by NBIM is significantly higher than that of the average of all companies
in the Refinitiv database. However, further analysis indicates that NBIM ownership has no
statistically significant effect on ESG performance. The effect of exclusion by NBIM on the
ESG score of a company is also insignificant according to our analysis. This implies that
NBIM screens firms for ESG performance to display their commitment to sustainability. We
theorize that the observed results could be attributed to inadequate ownership stakes, thereby
restricting NBIM’s impact on company ESG scores.nhhma
All Quiet on the Market Front : A stock market analysis of the Ukraine-Russia War 2022
Get PDFThis thesis examines the stock market reaction to changes in the public's perception of
the likelihood of a conflict in an approach to find evidence for the "war puzzle" theorem
by Brune et al. (2015). We use time series regression analysis including interaction terms
to measure the impact of the outbreak of wars. Our focus lies on the war between Ukraine
and Russia in 2022. We also investigate the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and
the annexation of Crimea in 2014. We do not find supporting evidence for the theorem in
our analysis. Our discussion presents several potential reasons for this, reaching from the
relevance of the conflicts to prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky (1979)).nhhma
Analysing the gender wage gap Empirical evidence from Germany and the United States
Get PDFThe main objective of this thesis is to investigate the potential sources of the gender wage gap
in Germany and the United States. For that purpose, we employ high quality microdata sets
from the German Socio-Economic panel (SOEP) and IPUMS CPS. We use cross-sectional
data for the years 1989 and 2019 to study a representative sample of full-time employees
between the age of 25 to 64. By employing the Kitagawa-Oaxaca-Blinder (KOB)
decomposition method (Kitagawa 1955; Oaxaca 1973; Blinder 1973) we estimate how much
of the unadjusted gender wage gap in the countries is attributed gender differences in measured
characteristics. Furthermore, by applying a Juhn, Murphy, and Pierce (JMP) (1991)
decomposition we investigate how relative improvements in terms of characteristics and rising
return to these characteristics affects the gender wage gap over time. The aim is to understand
if increasing overall inequality counterbalances women’s progress in the labour market and
has a widening effect on the gender wage gap. Lastly, Blau and Kahn (1996) find that countries
with more compressed wage distributions have smaller gender wage gaps. We investigate this
by a JMP decomposition of the U.S.-German difference in the gender wage gap to understand
if differences in return to characteristics is the most important contributor to international
differences in the gender wage gap.
The results show that the gender wage gap declines in Germany and the United States between
1989 and 2019. The results from the KOB decomposition show that gender differences in
observable characteristics in total no longer explain the gender wage gap for these countries
in 2019. Gender differences in distribution by industry however continues to explain malefemale
wage disparities over the period studied. The JMP results show that changes in the
return to characteristics negates some of the progress made by female workers over the period.
Lastly, the most important factor for explaining the U.S- German difference in the gender
wage gap is the relative differences in return to characteristics. This effect was however
stronger in 1989 and reflects that the wage distribution in Germany have become more
dispersed over the period of study and is thus more similar to that observed in the United
States.nhhma
Leveraged Buyouts in the Era of Quantitative Easing : An Empirical Analysis of European Private Equity Buyouts B Unconventional Monetary Policies
Get PDFUsing proprietary European data on private equity (PE) buyouts, this thesis contributes
to the growing research on the relationship between financial markets, investment decisions
and quantitative easing. Detailed country data with yearly observations from 2007 to 2021
allow for a dynamic panel data approach when examining the impact of quantitative easing
on various variables related to LBOs. The estimations find no evidence of the expected
relationship between quantitative easing and private equity buyouts, the fundraising efforts
of PE funds or the issuance of leveraged loans conducted to finance buyouts. Instead,
there is evidence that lower long-term yields drive the expansion of the leveraged loan
market. The results of this thesis suggest that buyout funds may have exploited a relative
discount in the leveraged loans market. However, there is nothing to suggest that this
discount was driven by quantitative easing.nhhma