IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eurase/v11y2021i1d10.1007_s40822-020-00165-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Drivers of green bond issuance and new evidence on the “greenium”

Author

Listed:
  • Kristin Ulrike Löffler

    (Jönköping University)

  • Aleksandar Petreski

    (Jönköping University)

  • Andreas Stephan

    (Jönköping University)

Abstract

This paper examines whether a premium for green bonds, called “greenium”, found in previous studies, exists in primary and secondary bond markets. Using a universe of about 2000 green and 180,000 non-green bonds from 650 international issuers, we apply both propensity score matching and coarsened exact matching to determine a sample of conventional bonds that is most similar to the sample of green bonds. We find that green bonds have larger issue sizes and lower rated issuers, on average, compared to conventional bonds. The estimates show that the yield for green bonds is, on average, 15–20 basis points lower than that of conventional bonds, both on primary and secondary markets, thus a “greenium” exists.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristin Ulrike Löffler & Aleksandar Petreski & Andreas Stephan, 2021. "Drivers of green bond issuance and new evidence on the “greenium”," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurase:v:11:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s40822-020-00165-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s40822-020-00165-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40822-020-00165-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40822-020-00165-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andreas Karpf & Antoine Mandel, 2018. "The changing value of the ‘green’ label on the US municipal bond market," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(2), pages 161-165, February.
    2. Robin Greenwood & Dimitri Vayanos, 2014. "Bond Supply and Excess Bond Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(3), pages 663-713.
    3. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2011. "Multivariate Matching Methods That Are Monotonic Imbalance Bounding," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 106(493), pages 345-361.
    4. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2007. "Disagreement, tastes, and asset prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 667-689, March.
    5. Hachenberg, B. & Schiereck, D., 2018. "Are green bonds priced differently from conventional bonds?," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 109709, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    6. Madurika Nanayakkara & Sisira Colombage, 2019. "Do investors in Green Bond market pay a premium? Global evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(40), pages 4425-4437, August.
    7. Fama, Eugene F., 1998. "Determining the Number of Priced State Variables in the ICAPM," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(2), pages 217-231, June.
    8. Nachemson-Ekwall , Sophie, 2019. "A Swedish market for sustainability-related and socially labelled bonds. Institutional investors as drivers," SSE Working Paper Series in Business Administration 2019:3, Stockholm School of Economics.
    9. John Y. Campbell & Glen B. Taksler, 2003. "Equity Volatility and Corporate Bond Yields," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2321-2350, December.
    10. Qinghua Wang & Yaning Zhou & Li Luo & Junping Ji, 2019. "Research on the Factors Affecting the Risk Premium of China’s Green Bond Issuance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Torsten Ehlers & Frank Packer, 2017. "Green bond finance and certification," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, September.
    12. Wang, Jiazhen & Chen, Xin & Li, Xiaoxia & Yu, Jing & Zhong, Rui, 2020. "The market reaction to green bond issuance: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    13. Olivier David Zerbib, 2019. "The effect of pro-environmental preferences on bond prices: Evidence from green bonds," Post-Print halshs-02008641, HAL.
    14. Febi, Wulandari & Schäfer, Dorothea & Stephan, Andreas & Sun, Chen, 2018. "The impact of liquidity risk on the yield spread of green bonds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 53-59.
    15. Zerbib, Olivier David, 2019. "The effect of pro-environmental preferences on bond prices: Evidence from green bonds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 39-60.
    16. Fatica, Serena & Panzica, Roberto & Rancan, Michela, 2021. "The pricing of green bonds: Are financial institutions special?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    17. Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Zhang, Yupu, 2020. "Do shareholders benefit from green bonds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    18. Agliardi, Elettra & Agliardi, Rossella, 2019. "Financing environmentally-sustainable projects with green bonds," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(6), pages 608-623, December.
    19. Maria Jua Bachelet & Leonardo Becchetti & Stefano Manfredonia, 2019. "The Green Bonds Premium Puzzle: The Role of Issuer Characteristics and Third-Party Verification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-22, February.
    20. Mark Bagnoli & Susan G. Watts, 2020. "On the corporate use of green bonds," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 187-209, January.
    21. M. Chiesa & S. Barua, 2019. "The surge of impact borrowing: the magnitude and determinants of green bond supply and its heterogeneity across markets," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 138-161, April.
    22. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    23. Britta Hachenberg & Dirk Schiereck, 2018. "Are green bonds priced differently from conventional bonds?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(6), pages 371-383, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jankovic, Irena & Vasic, Vladimir & Kovacevic, Vlado, 2022. "Does transparency matter? Evidence from panel analysis of the EU government green bonds," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Tang, Ying & Wang, Biliang & Pan, Ningning & Li, Zhiyong, 2023. "The impact of environmental information disclosure on the cost of green bond: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Karel Janda & Binyi Zhang, 2021. "Attractiveness of Chinese Bonds Financing Climate and Environmental Projects," FFA Working Papers 4.007, Prague University of Economics and Business, revised 26 Apr 2022.
    4. Piñeiro-Chousa, Juan & López-Cabarcos, M.Ángeles & Caby, Jérôme & Šević, Aleksandar, 2021. "The influence of investor sentiment on the green bond market," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    5. Danilo Liberati & Giuseppe Marinelli, 2024. "Was Covid-19 a wake-up call on climate risks? Evidence from the greenium," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 832, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Elettra Agliardi & Rossella Agliardi, 2021. "Corporate Green Bonds: Understanding the Greenium in a Two-Factor Structural Model," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(2), pages 257-278, October.
    7. Juan Camilo Mejía-Escobar & Juan David González-Ruiz & Giovanni Franco-Sepúlveda, 2021. "Current State and Development of Green Bonds Market in the Latin America and the Caribbean," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-25, September.
    8. Koziol, Christian & Proelss, Juliane & Roßmann, Philipp & Schweizer, Denis, 2022. "The price of being green," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    9. Li, Yanxi & Yu, Conghui & Shi, Jinyan & Liu, Yuanyuan, 2023. "How does green bond issuance affect total factor productivity? Evidence from Chinese listed enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    10. Hu, Xin & Zhu, Bo & Lin, Renda & Li, Xiru & Zeng, Lidan & Zhou, Sitong, 2024. "How does greenness translate into greenium? Evidence from China's green bonds," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Zenno, Yoshihiro & Aruga, Kentaka, 2023. "Investing the factors affecting green bond investments in China: Cases for Beijing and Shenzhen," MPRA Paper 116203, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Yoshihiro Zenno & Kentaka Aruga, 2023. "Investigating Factors Affecting Institutional Investors’ Green Bond Investments: Cases for Beijing and Shenzhen," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    13. Ana-Belén Alonso-Conde & Javier Rojo-Suárez, 2020. "On the Effect of Green Bonds on the Profitability and Credit Quality of Project Financing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Huang, Chih-Yueh & Dekker, David & Christopoulos, Dimitrios, 2023. "Rethinking greenium: A quadratic function of yield spread," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    15. Hinsche, Isabelle Cathérine, 2021. "A greenium for the next generation EU green bonds: Analysis of a potential green bond premium and its drivers," CFS Working Paper Series 663, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    16. Chuc Anh Tu & Tapan Sarker & Ehsan Rasoulinezhad, 2020. "Factors Influencing the Green Bond Market Expansion: Evidence from a Multi-Dimensional Analysis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, June.
    17. Baldi, Francesco & Pandimiglio, Alessandro, 2022. "The role of ESG scoring and greenwashing risk in explaining the yields of green bonds: A conceptual framework and an econometric analysis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    18. Kocaarslan, Baris, 2023. "Funding liquidity risk and the volatility of U.S. municipal green bonds during the COVID-19 pandemic," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    19. Shashank Bansal & Satya Prakash Mani & Himanshu Gupta & Shipra Maurya, 2023. "Sustainable development of the green bond markets in India: Challenges and strategies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 237-252, February.
    20. Hu, Xiaolu & Zhong, Angel & Cao, Youdan, 2022. "Greenium in the Chinese corporate bond market," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:eurase:v:11:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s40822-020-00165-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.