Speaker: Professor Gao Haoyu

                School of Finance, Renmin University of China

Moderator: Professor Chen Sichong

                     School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

                     ESG Research Institute, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Time: March 22, 2024 (Friday)

          14:00-15:30

Location: Wenquan Building South 408

Lecture Abstract

Biodiversity loss as a global concern requires dramatic shifts in conservation efforts that carry substantial costs. We offer an initial investigation into how the financial market prices such conservation costs, exploiting the“Green Shield Action”(GSA) —— a regulatory change aimed at preserving biodiversity in national nature reserves in China —— as an exogenous shock to local public financing. We document that GSA, while improving biodiversity, augments the yields of municipal corporate bonds by around 25 basis points. The effects are more pronounced for bonds with shorter maturities and for local governments in weak fiscal positions. The increased cost of public capital can be largely attributed to transition pressure resulting from pre-existing economic activities within reserves and the growth in local public spending on biodiversity following the reform. Investors show little consideration towards endeavors counteracting biodiversity loss beyond financial payoffs. Our findings also provide insights concerning investor education and policy interventions for addressing the financing gap for biodiversity conservation.

Guest Introduction

Gao Haoyu, a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Finance of Renmin University of China, serves as the Deputy Director of the Department of Monetary Finance. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a specially-appointed Wu Yuzhang Professor at Renmin University of China, and was selected for the 5th Young Talents Support Project by the China Association for Science and Technology. He holds a Ph.D. from the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and City University of Hong Kong. His research primarily focuses on banking and financial intermediaries, financial risk management, debt and credit markets, corporate finance, and China's capital markets. His representative academic achievements have been published or accepted in prestigious journals both in China and internationally, including The Journal of Finance (JF), The Review of Financial Studies (RFS), Journal of Financial Economics (JFE), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA), Management World, Journal of Financial Research, Journal of Management Sciences, The World Economy, Systems Engineering Theory and Practice, and China Economic Quarterly, among others. He has completed a National Natural Science Foundation of China project for young scientists (later assessed as excellent) and is currently leading a major project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Organizer

School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Base for Innovation and Introduction of Talents in Digital Technology and Modern Finance Industry Upgrade and Regional Finance Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province

Hubei Financial Research Center

China Investment Research Center, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

FinTech Research Institute, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Institute for Innovation in Digital Technology and Modern Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law