Maxime Sauzet, Professor, Boston University
Abstract: We bring investors with preferences for green assets to a general equilibrium setting in which they also prefer consuming green goods. Their preferences for green goods induce consumption premia on expected returns that counterbalance the green premium stemming from their preferences for green assets. Because they provide a hedge when green goods become expensive, brown assets command lower consumption premia, and green investors allocate a larger share of their portfolios towards them. Empirically, the green-minus-brown consumption premia differential reached 30-40 basis points annually, and contributes to explaining the limited impact of green investing on polluting firms’ costs of capital.