Erik Theissen joins Commission of Exchange Experts

Erik Theissen was appointed to the Commission of Exchange Experts of the German Federal Ministry of Finance. This commission advises the Federal Ministry of Finance in questions of capital market policy. Its members include high-ranking representatives of significant German firms such as Siemens AG, DZ Bank AG, Deutsche Post AG, and Deutsche Bundesbank. Erik Theissen will provide his scientific expertise to the commission for the next three years, starting on April 15th, 2024.

Paper on sustainable investments

Together with researchers from Vienna, Stavanger and Brussels, Stefan Palan recently published a paper titled "Can information provision and preference elicitation promote ESG investments? Evidence from a large, incentivized online experiment" in the Journal of Banking and Finance. They study the role that providing information about financial returns and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts plays in influencing investors' decisions towards sustainable investments.

The paper reveals that both financial return information and ESG impact information stimulate investors towards ESG investments. Interestingly, combining these two types of information does not enhance the effect beyond presenting either one alone. This insight is crucial for financial advisors and institutions looking to promote ESG investments among their clients, as it suggests a targeted approach to information provision can be effective.

Link to the paper (open access)