Socially Responsible Investing in the Political Context
Type
working paper
Date Issued
2026-03-01
Author(s)
Ramelli, Stefano
;
Anna, Vasileva
;
Alexander F Wagner
;
Ceccarelli, Marco
Abstract
Can changes in political context shift the weight individuals place on non-pecuniary versus pecuniary motives in financial decision-making? We examine this question using pre-registered surveys and incentivized investment decisions surrounding the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Following Trump’s victory, investors reduced average green investments due to worse financial expectations. However, investors who strongly disapproved of his climate policies increased their green allocations, emphasizing climate considerations over financial ones. These “contrarian” investors appear motivated to
offset perceived policy shortcomings. Real-world ETF flows corroborate this pattern. The findings have implications for understanding and modeling values-based investment behavior.
offset perceived policy shortcomings. Real-world ETF flows corroborate this pattern. The findings have implications for understanding and modeling values-based investment behavior.
Language
English (United States)
Keywords
D83
G11
G12
G41
G51
P18 Behavioral Finance
Beliefs
Climate change
Context-dependent preferences
Investments
Political economy
Surveys
Sustainable finance
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Subject(s)
Division(s)
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
CeccarelliRamelliVasilevaWagner_SociallyResponsibleInvestingInThePoliticalContext_October2025.pdf
Size
1.49 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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