Do energy prices, covid19, and financial uncertainty hinder the environment and social responsibility?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached more than 215 countries across the globe, and it has also led to severe damage to the worldwide financial markets. Therefore, the current study explores the role of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, the energy prices, and the subsequent financial uncertainty on the US market's environment and social responsibility index (ESRI), which is considered a good representation of the global market. The study has applied Quantile Autoregressive Lagged Approach (QARDL) for estimation using data from January 2010 to July 2021. The findings of the aforementioned relationships have been reported to be similar to the outcomes that have been observed for the short run, as reported in the longer period of time. Precisely, for energy prices and ESRI, the nature of the relationship remains negative. Moreover, in terms of the relationship between the financial uncertainty and ESRI, the nature of the relationship remains negative, while for the relationship observed between COVID and ESRI, the nature of the relationship remains positive. Based on these findings, maintaining the level of compliance towards ESRI, following the relevant SOPs, and improving the productivity of energy resources are viable measures that can be recommended.