Dr. Yrjo Koskinen
Positions
Professor
Haskayne School of Business, Finance [FNCE]
BMO Professorship in Sustainable Finance
Haskayne School of Business, Finance [FNCE]
Contact information
Phone number
Office: 403.220.5540
Location
Office: SH150
For media enquiries, contact
Janice Hillmer
Senior Communications Strategist
Email: janice.hillmer@ucalgary.ca
Background
Educational Background
Doctor of Philosophy Finance, INSEAD, 1999
Masters of Social Sciences Economics, University of Helsinki, 1991
Biography
Yrjö Koskinen the BMO Professor of Sustainable and Transition Finance at the Haskayne School of Business. He served as the Associate Dean of Research and Business Impact from 2017 to 2022. He has previously been a faculty member at Stockholm School of Economics, Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds an MSc degree in Economics from the University of Helsinki, and a PhD in Management (Finance) from INSEAD. Prior to his academic career, Yrjö worked as a financial journalist, asset manager and as an economist at the Bank of Finland.
Yrjö currently serves on the advisory board of the Institute of Sustainable Finance at Queen’s University and on the steering committee for the Canadian Sustainable Finance Network. He is also a fellow at the Nordic Initiative in Corporate Economics and a research member at the European Corporate Governance Institute. He is the past co-president of the Northern Finance Association.
Yrjö’s main research areas are corporate finance and governance, and sustainable finance. His current research focuses on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and how they affect trading and prices in financial markets. His research has been published in the leading finance and management journals, such as the Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Review of Finance. He is the recipient of the Standard Life Investments Finance Prize for his research on corporate social responsibility and firm risk.
Research
Areas of Research
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| FNCE 668 | Seminar in Sustainable Finance | Spring 2024 |
Projects
This paper studies trading by equity mutual funds comparing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds with conventional funds, using the COVID19 market crash as a quasi-natural experiment to test funds’ commitment to ESG strategies. Funds that disclosed their ESG orientation in their prospectuses increased their portfolioweight of non-ES stocks. In contrast, funds with High Globe ratings or Low Carbon designation from Morningstar maintained a stable portfolio weight in ES stocks in response to fund flows during the crash. Results are consistent with ESG prospectus funds engaging in greenwashing. There is no evidence of widespread greenwashing by the other ESG funds.
We use the enactment of limited liability legislation across Canadian provinces to examine the effect of the change in liability status on firm outcomes for a group of public firms known as income trusts. We show that the switch from unlimited to limited liability increases trusts’ institutional ownership, net external financing, investments, profitability, payouts, and riskiness. Our results are stronger for energy trusts, which are more capital-intensive and face potentially greater liability risks.
In this paper, we examine the impact of stakeholder orientation on environmental performance and financial benefits from environmental performance. We use firm-level data from Canada and the United States spanning the years 2002 to 2020 and classify all Canadian firms and those U.S. firms located in states that have passed constituency statutes as stakeholder-oriented. We first show that Canadian firms and stakeholder-oriented U.S. firms have better environmental performance than shareholder-oriented U.S. firms. We then find that good environmental performance increases profits and valuations for all firms in the U.S., but especially for shareholder-oriented firms. For Canadian firms overall there is no consistent financial impact. Moreover, the financial impact of environmental performance becomes negative for Canadian firms after the Supreme Court decision in 2008 on BCE Inc. vs. 1976 Debentureholders, stating that the duty of the board of directors is to act in the best interest of the corporation, not its shareholders. The U.S. results for valuations are robust after taking into account potential endogeneity issues using instrumental variables and dynamic panel regressions. Thus, our results suggest a trade-off between firm environmental and financial performance under different governance schemes. On the one hand, stakeholder orientation decreases financial benefits from firms’ environmental performance. On the other hand, shareholder orientation may be detrimental to the environment. This has important policy implications for the current debate on climate change mitigation.
Awards
- Finnish Securities Markets Foundation research award, Finnish Securities Markets Foundation. 2020
- Dean's Research Scholar, Haskayne School of Business. 2019
- The Standard Life Investments Finance Prize, European Corporate Governance Institute. 2014
- Best paper award, Geneva Summit on Sustainable Finance, University of Geneva. 2013
- Professor of the Year, Questrom School of Business, Boston University. 2011
- Broderick Award for Excellence in Research, Questrom School of Business, Boston University. 2007
- Best paper award, Financial Management Association. 2001
- Best Paper Award, Portuguese Finance Network Conference. 2023
Publications
- Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks: An Analysis of the Exogenous COVID-19 Market Crash. Y Koskinen with Rui Albuquerque, Shuai Yang, and Chendi Zhang. Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 9:3. 593-621. (2020)
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Risk: Theory and Empirical Evidence. Y Koskinen with Rui Albuquerque and Chendi Zhang. Management Science, 65:10. 4451-4469. (2019)
- Information, Innovation, and Investment Timing. Y Koskinen with Joril Maeland. Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 5:2. 166-199. (2016)
- The Euro and Corporate Financing before the Crisis. Y Koskinen with Arturo Bris and Mattias Nilsson. Journal of Financial Economics, 114. 554-575. (2014)
- Private Information and Bargaining Power in Venture Capital Financing. Y Koskinen with Michael Rebello and Yun Wang. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 23:4. 743-775. (2014)
- Investor Protection, Equity Returns, and Financial Globalization. Y Koskinen with Mariassunta Giannetti. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 45:1. 135-168. (2010)
- The Euro and Corporate Valuations. Y Koskinen with Arturo Bris and Mattias Nilsson. Review of Financial Studies, 22:8. 3171-3209. (2009)
- Phoenix Rising: Legal Reforms and Changes in Valuations in Finland during the Economic Crisis. Y Koskinen with Timo Korkeamäki and Tuomas Takalo. Journal of Financial Stability, 3:1. 33-58. (2007)
- The Real Effects of the Euro: Evidence from Corporate Investments. Y Koskinen with Arturo Bris and Mattias Nilsson. Review of Finance, 10:1. 1-37. (2006)
- Corporate Financial Policies and Performance Around Currency Crises. Y Koskinen with Arturo Bris and Vicente Pons. Journal of Business, 77:4. 749-795. (2004)
- Corporate Leverage and Currency Crises. Y Koskinen with Arturo Bris. Journal of Financial Economics, 63:2. 275-310. (2002)
In the News
- Stock markets signal a growing gap between Canadian and American clean tech firms. The Conversation. (2024)
- Oil companies cautious about drilling as energy transition looms. Reuters. (2023)
- Why environmental performance increases profits for U.S. firms, but not for Canadian firms. Green Bull Radio. (2023)
- Budget 2023 moves Canada toward low-carbon future, but there's catching up to do, say experts Social Sharing. CBC. (2023)
- There is indeed a problem with ESG investing — just not the one you think. Globe and Mail. (2023)
- Enbridge, Suncor targets of climate-focused shareholder activism ahead of 2023 proxy season. Financial Post. (2023)
- Ottawa reveals plan for new tax on stock buybacks. Financial Post. (2022)
- 'A fine line': Canada's big banks have long stood by the oilpatch, but ESG pressures are changing things. Financial Post. (2022)
- Sustainable Finance in an Inflationary World. The Insider's Guide to Business. (2022)
- True north, strong and green?. The Banker. (2022)
- We are seeing what a serious response to a crisis looks like, let's apply this focus to energy transition. CBC Opinion. (2022)
- Trudeau pledges support for European nations to move away from Russian energy. National Post. (2022)
- Targeting Russian Oligarchs. A Little More Conversation With Ben O’Hara-Byrne. (2022)
- Opinion: Canada can help wean Europe off Russian energy. But do we have the will to do it?. Financial Post. (2022)
- Kenney calls for crackdown on Russian oligarchs, those with links to Alberta remain unsanctioned. CBC News. (2022)
- Opinion: Canada’s pathway to a net zero world includes carbon capture, foreign investment and new financing mechanisms. Calgary Herald. (2021)
- BMO gift establishes 'energy transition' professorship at U of C. Calgary Herald. (2021)
- ‘Sustainable finance’ is a great buzzy phrase, but what does it actually mean?. Report on Business, Globe and Mail. (2021)
- ESG 101. Green Bull Radio. (2020)
- How one tax change could turbocharge Alberta’s energy sector. Globe and Mail. (2020)
- Green income trusts could accelerate Canada’s energy transition. The Conversation. (2020)
- Canadian oil/gas/pipeline corps' financial health at risk because of ESG concerns?. Energi Media. (2020)
- Kenney says Alberta has reduced oilsands emissions, but oil-related pollution is actually increasing. Here’s why. Toronto Star. (2019)
- What Retailers Can Learn About Social Responsibility From Toms And Patagonia. Forbes. (2019)
More Information
Mutual funds’ loyalty helped to stabilise ESG stocks during the COVID-19 market crash (Vox EU Blog)
Does Limited Liability Matter (The CLS Blue Sky Blog)
Environmental and social policies pay off when times are tough (UN PRI Blog)
Can CSR reduce risk and boost valuations? (UN PRI Blog)
Why do firms invest millions of dollars in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives? (Management Science Review Blog)
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