This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. ASSA Annual Meeting
  3. 2022
  4. Preliminary Program
  5. Diversity, CSR, Climate and COVID-19
« Back to Results

Diversity, CSR, Climate and COVID-19

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 7, 2022 3:45 PM - 5:45 PM (EST)

Hosted By: Association of Financial Economists
  • Chair: Lemma W. Senbet, University of Maryland

Gender Stereotypes and Entrepreneur Financing

Camille Hebert
,
University of Toronto

Abstract

I examine gender differences in external equity financing using administrative data on the population of start-ups in France. Female-founded start-ups are 27% less likely to raise external equity including venture capital. However, the gender funding gap reverses in female-dominated sectors, where female entrepreneurs are more likely to raise funding than male entrepreneurs. Moreover, I show that conditional on being backed with equity, entrepreneurs outperform in gender-incongruent sectors, suggesting that requirements for funding are higher for entrepreneurs that are minority in gender-incongruent sectors. The evidence is consistent with the existence of context-dependent stereotypes among investors.

CSR and Firm Performance in the Face of Terrorist Attacks, Hurricanes and Covid-19

Eliezer M. Fich
,
Drexel University
Kose John
,
New York University
Tung Duy Nguyen
,
University of Manchester
Dimitris Petmezas
,
Durham University

Abstract

TBD

Do Age and Gender Affect Managers' Career Progression? Evidence from the Careers of Movie Directors

Shu Han
,
Yeshiva University
S. Abraham Ravid
,
Yeshiva University

Abstract

This paper considers bias in the market for managerial positions by following the career paths of film directors. Film directors manage multi-million projects and are hired on a project-by-project basis. Unlike other industries, researchers have most of the data available to decision makers.
We gather data on directors’ film projects from the time they enter the profession. We also study their background prior to the first movie they direct. As expected, the economic success of previous film projects is the main determinant of hiring for a new film, thus our null hypothesis is that controlling for career paths, age gender and race should not matter in landing a new project.
However, we find that age matters and although directors direct their first project around age 40 on average, there is evidence of age discrimination even for directors under 50. We do not find convincing evidence for gender bias; however, we also document that on average, only 12% of an entering cohort of new directors are women and they follow a different path than men in the entertainment industry.
We conclude that if there is evidence of bias in an industry where career related information is public knowledge, it may be worse in more opaque industries.

Do Salient Climatic Risks Affect Shareholder Voting?

Eliezer M. Fich
,
Drexel University
Guosong Xu
,
Erasmus University

Abstract

Shareholders in locations recently hit by hurricanes significantly increase their support for environmental proposals even if they never previously voted for similar initiatives. Our results show that changed beliefs about salient climate risks rather than firms’ fundamentals drive the increased support. More favorable voting following a hurricane strike has real consequences: Climate-related proposals are more likely to pass, and when they do, firm performance weakens. These findings highlight the role of investor psychology in altering shareholders’ perceptions about climate risks and, consequently, their support for corporate environmental policies.

Discussant(s)
Sabrina Howell
,
New York University
Mila Getmansky Sherman
,
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Xiaoding Liu
,
Texas A&M University
Adrien Matray
,
Princeton University
JEL Classifications
  • G0 - General
  • J7 - Labor Discrimination