Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment
Non-technical summary By the end of 2020, 190 universities and colleges worldwide had publicly committed to divest partially or fully from fossil fuel holdings, to help mitigate global heating. We find a statistical correlation between the status of universities in the world rankings and decisions t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Global Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059479821000193/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811155711629983744 |
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| author | Gregory M. Mikkelson Miron Avidan Aleksandra Conevska Dror Etzion |
| author_facet | Gregory M. Mikkelson Miron Avidan Aleksandra Conevska Dror Etzion |
| author_sort | Gregory M. Mikkelson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Non-technical summary
By the end of 2020, 190 universities and colleges worldwide had publicly committed to divest partially or fully from fossil fuel holdings, to help mitigate global heating. We find a statistical correlation between the status of universities in the world rankings and decisions to divest endowments from fossil fuel. Further analysis suggests causation in both directions. Not only do the best divest, but divestors get better.
Technical summary
Previous studies have explored connections between environmental responsibility and the financial performance of business firms. Here, we explore connections between a particular form of environmental responsibility, divestment from fossil fuel, and the reputational status of a different form of organization, universities. We find a strong and robust link between world university rankings and commitments to divest endowments from the fossil fuel industry, with higher-ranked universities divesting at higher rates compared to lower-ranked universities. Rates of divestment also differ significantly between countries, and according to the political orientations of provinces and states. We do not find evidence for links between divestment treated as a binary variable and a university's number of students, size of endowment, or type of endowment. We use time lags to test whether the rank-divestment correlation may arise due to effects of rank on divestment and/or vice versa. These tests indicate influence in both directions. In light of these results, we predict universities that have not yet divested will face mounting peer pressure to do so.
Social media summary
Higher-ranked universities divest more frequently, and divesting universities improve more in the rankings.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f14a99560b594454a4038700e577c640 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2059-4798 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:39:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-f14a99560b594454a4038700e577c6402023-03-09T12:43:41ZengCambridge University PressGlobal Sustainability2059-47982021-01-01410.1017/sus.2021.19Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestmentGregory M. Mikkelson0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5450-1914Miron Avidan1Aleksandra Conevska2Dror Etzion3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5885-5031Independent Scholar, CanadaInstitute for Economy and the Environment, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, SwitzerlandDepartment of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USADesautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, CanadaNon-technical summary By the end of 2020, 190 universities and colleges worldwide had publicly committed to divest partially or fully from fossil fuel holdings, to help mitigate global heating. We find a statistical correlation between the status of universities in the world rankings and decisions to divest endowments from fossil fuel. Further analysis suggests causation in both directions. Not only do the best divest, but divestors get better. Technical summary Previous studies have explored connections between environmental responsibility and the financial performance of business firms. Here, we explore connections between a particular form of environmental responsibility, divestment from fossil fuel, and the reputational status of a different form of organization, universities. We find a strong and robust link between world university rankings and commitments to divest endowments from the fossil fuel industry, with higher-ranked universities divesting at higher rates compared to lower-ranked universities. Rates of divestment also differ significantly between countries, and according to the political orientations of provinces and states. We do not find evidence for links between divestment treated as a binary variable and a university's number of students, size of endowment, or type of endowment. We use time lags to test whether the rank-divestment correlation may arise due to effects of rank on divestment and/or vice versa. These tests indicate influence in both directions. In light of these results, we predict universities that have not yet divested will face mounting peer pressure to do so. Social media summary Higher-ranked universities divest more frequently, and divesting universities improve more in the rankings. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059479821000193/type/journal_articleadaptation and mitigationpoliciespolitics and governance |
| spellingShingle | Gregory M. Mikkelson Miron Avidan Aleksandra Conevska Dror Etzion Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment Global Sustainability adaptation and mitigation policies politics and governance |
| title | Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment |
| title_full | Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment |
| title_fullStr | Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment |
| title_short | Mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment |
| title_sort | mutual reinforcement of academic reputation and fossil fuel divestment |
| topic | adaptation and mitigation policies politics and governance |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2059479821000193/type/journal_article |
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