Corporate Social Responsibility and the Equity Markets: A quantitative analysis

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure and equity prices in the financial markets. An event study combined with a textual analysis is used to research this relationship. The thesis is based on the European market and the sample period is between 2018 and 2019. Insight is given into the immediate and short-term effects of CSR disclosure and the significant results suggest that we can conclude that there exists a relationship between CSR disclosure and equity market reactions. The results indicate both a negative effect on abnormal return but also a positive effect in terms of lower volatility.