CEOs who participate in hunting and fishing benefit by appreciating natural environments and permanently consuming natural resources. We examine whether CEOs who hunt and fish make different environmental decisions and find that firms led by CEOs who obtain the most hunting and fishing licenses have lower environmental performance as measured by MSCI-KLD. This effect is strongest in the environmental category of climate change but also extends to pollution, waste, and the protection of natural capital. Furthermore, firms led by CEOs with the most hunting and fishing licenses are significantly more likely to pay a regulatory settlement for an environmental regulatory infraction.

Speaker bio: Steve Swidler is the Hanson/KPMG Professor of Business and Finance in the Department of Economics at Lafayette College. Prior to joining the faculty at Lafayette, Professor Swidler taught at Auburn University, the University of Texas at Arlington, Southern Methodist University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Rice University. He has also had summer appointments at Victoria University in New Zealand and the Oslo School of Business and was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. His areas of teaching and research interests include corporate finance, investments, derivatives, and residential real estate. In addition to academic positions, Professor Swidler previously worked at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and at Lexecon, an economic consulting firm. Dr. Swidler received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University.