경제정책의 불확실성이 기업의 ESG 성과에 미치는 영향

We delineate the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and corporate ESG performance. For ESG compliant companies, uncertainty leads to improved ESG outcomes, consistent with arguments related to signaling and the availability of slack resources. In contrast, for ESG non-compliant firms, uncertainty is associated with weaker ESG performance, in line with the view that uncertainty shocks negatively affect corporate investment. Thus, economic policy uncertainty does not have uniform effects on corporate ESG practices. The results suggest a growing polarization in ESG performance, where the gap between ESG leaders and laggards widens.