The Unassuming Economist

From a paper by Neeraj Nautiyal, Mobeen Ur Rehman, Rami Zeitun, and Xuan Vinh Vo:

“We investigate how socially responsible investment (SRI) funds respond to different oil-induced price shocks, using Ready’s (2018) approach. Using daily data for six SRI indices from March 8, 2016, to November 29, 2024, we apply wavelet coherence and nonlinear causality methods to analyze the time-frequency relationship between oil shocks and SRI fund performance across different market states. Our findings reveal that supply and risk shocks play a significant role in driving the co-movement between oil price dynamics and SRI funds’ behavior returns, particularly at medium and lower frequencies, respectively. Risk shocks exhibit a systemic influence, consistently dominating supply and demand shocks, especially in the pre-2021 period and during the COVID-19 pandemic, though their effects fizzle out in stable market conditions. Quantile causality estimates confirm the strong predictive power of risk shocks, particularly at lower quantiles. Our work presents practical implications for ethical investors, dealing with oil-related market risks.”