Stock market reactions to information disclosure: new evidence from Japan's pollutant release and transfer register

摘要

Information disclosure has been touted as a powerful tool to effect change in environmental quality. We present the first empirical analysis of investor reactions to a pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR) outside the United States. In contrast to the US studies, we found only weak evidence of negative investor reactions to firms listed on Japan's PRTR. We identified several institutional reasons for these contradictory results. Our results suggest that PRTRs may not have the same effect in all nations and thus further empirical studies of the burgeoning number of PRTRs being implemented globally are warranted.