Share:


Can green bonds hedge against geopolitical risk? A cross-market connectedness analysis with portfolio implications

    Yufei Xia Affiliation
    ; Yujia Chen Affiliation
    ; Lingyun He Affiliation
    ; Zhengxu Shi Affiliation
    ; Xintian Ji Affiliation
    ; Rongjiang Cai Affiliation

Abstract

This study investigates whether green bonds (GBs) can hedge against geopolitical risk (GPR). This study extends the booming literature on GPR and GBs, develops a modified connectedness network model to measure the connectedness between GPR and GBs, confirms the hedging property of GBs against GPR, and becomes the first to discuss alternative hedging properties of GBs against GPR. We find evidence of market-, time-, and quantile-varying linkage between GPR and GB markets based on the time-varying Granger causality test and quantile extended joint spillover index model. We confirm via a regression model that only the GB markets in China and Japan can hedge against GPR. At the same time, GB in China remains a weak hedging and safety-haven asset simultaneously. The results remain robust for alternative proxy variables, data frequency, and model specification. Finally, the MVP approach provides superior performance while maintaining weak hedging and safety-haven properties against GPR. This study has considerable portfolio-related implications: (1) it offers an efficient hedge (i.e., GB) against GPR, (2) the heterogeneous performance of regional GB markets reminds investors to be cautious when selecting GBs assets, and (3) it encourages reasonable investment allocations on GBs to achieve a balance between profit and risk.


First published online 24 September 2024

Keyword : green bonds, geopolitical risk, hedge asset, connectedness analysis, portfolio construction method

How to Cite
Xia, Y., Chen, Y., He, L., Shi, Z., Ji, X., & Cai, R. (2024). Can green bonds hedge against geopolitical risk? A cross-market connectedness analysis with portfolio implications. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 1-39. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2024.22088
Published in Issue
Sep 24, 2024
Abstract Views
346
PDF Downloads
224
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Ahmad, M., Ahmed, Z., Alvarado, R., Hussain, N., & Khan, S. A. (2024). Financial development, resource richness, eco-innovation, and sustainable development: Does geopolitical risk matter? Journal of Environmental Management, 351, Article 119824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119824

Ahmed, W. M. A. (2022). On the higher-order moment interdependence of stock and commodity markets: A wavelet coherence analysis. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 83, 135–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2021.12.003

Albuquerque, R., Koskinen, Y., Yang, S., & Zhang, C. (2020). Resiliency of environmental and social stocks: An analysis of the exogenous COVID-19 market crash. The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 9(3), 593–621. https://doi.org/10.1093/rcfs/cfaa011

Alexopoulos, M., & Cohen, J. (2015). The power of print: Uncertainty shocks, markets, and the economy. International Review of Economics & Finance, 40, 8–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2015.02.002

Ang, A., & Bekaert, G. (2002). International asset allocation with regime shifts. The Review of Financial Studies, 15(4), 1137–1187. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/15.4.1137

Arif, M., Naeem, M. A., Farid, S., Nepal, R., & Jamasb, T. (2022). Diversifier or more? Hedge and safe haven properties of green bonds during COVID-19. Energy Policy, 168, Article 113102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113102

Aysan, A. F., Demir, E., Gozgor, G., & Lau, C. K. M. (2019). Effects of the geopolitical risks on Bitcoin returns and volatility. Research in International Business and Finance, 47, 511–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2018.09.011

Azhgaliyeva, D., Kapsalyamova, Z., & Mishra, R. (2022). Oil price shocks and green bonds: An empirical evidence. Energy Economics, 112, Article 106108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106108

Balcilar, M., Gabauer, D., & Umar, Z. (2021). Crude Oil futures contracts and commodity markets: New evidence from a TVP-VAR extended joint connectedness approach. Resources Policy, 73, Article 102219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102219

Banga, J. (2019). The green bond market: A potential source of climate finance for developing countries. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 9(1), 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2018.1498617

Baruník, J., & Křehlík, T. (2018). Measuring the frequency dynamics of financial connectedness and systemic risk. Journal of Financial Econometrics, 16(2), 271–296. https://doi.org/10.1093/jjfinec/nby001

Baur, D. G., & Lucey, B. M. (2010). Is gold a hedge or a safe haven? An analysis of stocks, bonds and gold. Financial Review, 45(2), 217–229. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6288.2010.00244.x

Baur, D. G., & Smales, L. A. (2020). Hedging geopolitical risk with precious metals. Journal of Banking & Finance, 117, Article 105823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2020.105823

Bauwens, L., Laurent, S., & Rombouts, J. V. (2006). Multivariate GARCH models: A survey. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 21(1), 79–109. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.842

Będowska-Sójka, B., Demir, E., & Zaremba, A. (2022). Hedging geopolitical risks with different asset classes: A focus on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finance Research Letters, 50, Article 103192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103192

Bhutta, U. S., Tariq, A., Farrukh, M., Raza, A., & Iqbal, M. K. (2022). Green bonds for sustainable development: Review of literature on development and impact of green bonds. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 175, Article 121378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121378

Bloom, N. (2009). The impact of uncertainty shocks. Econometrica, 77(3), 623–685. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA6248

Bouoiyour, J., Selmi, R., Hammoudeh, S., & Wohar, M. E. (2019). What are the categories of geopolitical risks that could drive oil prices higher? Acts or threats? Energy Economics, 84, Article 104523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104523

Bouri, E., Demirer, R., Gupta, R., & Marfatia, H. A. (2019). Geopolitical risks and movements in Islamic bond and equity markets: A note. Defence and Peace Economics, 30(3), 367–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2018.1424613

Bouri, E., Saeed, T., Vo, X. V., & Roubaud, D. (2021). Quantile connectedness in the cryptocurrency market. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 71, Article 101302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2021.101302

Broadstock, D. C., & Cheng, L. T. (2019). Time-varying relation between black and green bond price benchmarks: Macroeconomic determinants for the first decade. Finance Research Letters, 29, 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2019.02.006

Caldara, D., & Iacoviello, M. (2022). Measuring geopolitical risk. American Economic Review, 112(4), 1194–1225. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20191823

Cheng, S., Zhang, Z., & Cao, Y. (2022). Can precious metals hedge geopolitical risk? Fresh sight using wavelet coherence analysis. Resources Policy, 79, Article 102972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102972

Chiesa, M., & Barua, S. (2019). The surge of impact borrowing: The magnitude and determinants of green bond supply and its heterogeneity across markets. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 9(2), 138–161. https://doi.org/10.1080/20430795.2018.1550993

Christoffersen, P., Errunza, V., Jacobs, K., & Jin, X. (2014). Correlation dynamics and international diversification benefits. International Journal of Forecasting, 30(3), 807–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2014.01.001

Colon, F., Kim, C., Kim, H., & Kim, W. (2021). The effect of political and economic uncertainty on the cryptocurrency market. Finance Research Letters, 39, Article 101621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101621

Contractor, D., Balli, F., & Hoxha, I. (2023). Market reaction to macroeconomic anouncements: Green vs conventional bonds. Applied Economics, 55(15), 1637–1662. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2022.2098243

Cornell, B. (2021). ESG preferences, risk and return. European Financial Management, 27(1), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12295

Climate Bonds Initiative. (2023). Climate Bonds Initiative Interactive Data Platform. https://www.climatebonds.net/market/data/

Diebold, F. X., & Yilmaz, K. (2012). Better to give than to receive: Predictive directional measurement of volatility spillovers. International Journal of Forecasting, 28(1), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2011.02.006

Dong, X., Xiong, Y., Nie, S., & Yoon, S.-M. (2023). Can bonds hedge stock market risks? Green bonds vs conventional bonds. Finance Research Letters, 52, Article 103367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103367

Druckman, J. N., & McGrath, M. C. (2019). The evidence for motivated reasoning in climate change preference formation. Nature Climate Change, 9(2), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0360-1

Dutta, A., Bouri, E., & Noor, M. H. (2021). Climate bond, stock, gold, and oil markets: Dynamic correlations and hedging analyses during the COVID-19 outbreak. Resources Policy, 74, Article 102265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102265

Dutta, A., & Dutta, P. (2022). Geopolitical risk and renewable energy asset prices: Implications for sustainable development. Renewable Energy, 196, 518–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.07.029

Elsayed, A. H., & Helmi, M. H. (2021). Volatility transmission and spillover dynamics across financial markets: The role of geopolitical risk. Annals of Operations Research, 305(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04081-5

Flammer, C. (2021). Corporate green bonds. Journal of Financial Economics, 142(2), 499-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.01.010

Han, H., Linton, O., Oka, T., & Whang, Y.-J. (2016). The cross-quantilogram: Measuring quantile dependence and testing directional predictability between time series. Journal of Econometrics, 193(1), 251–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2016.03.001

Hasan, M. B., Hossain, M. N., Junttila, J., Uddin, G. S., & Rabbani, M. R. (2022). Do commodity assets hedge uncertainties? What we learn from the recent turbulence period? Annals of Operations Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-022-04876-0

Hoque, M. E., Soo Wah, L., & Zaidi, M. A. S. (2019). Oil price shocks, global economic policy uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and stock price in Malaysia: Factor augmented VAR approach. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 32(1), 3700–3732. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1675078

Hu, X., Zhong, A., & Cao, Y. (2022). Greenium in the Chinese corporate bond market. Emerging Markets Review, 53, Article 100946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2022.100946

Huang, J., Cao, Y., & Zhong, P. (2022). Searching for a safe haven to crude oil: Green bond or precious metals? Finance Research Letters, 50, Article 103303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103303

Husain, S., Sohag, K., & Wu, Y. (2024). The responsiveness of renewable energy production to geopolitical risks, oil market instability and economic policy uncertainty: Evidence from United States. Journal of Environmental Management, 350, Article 119647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119647

Ivanovski, K., & Hailemariam, A. (2022). Time-varying geopolitical risk and oil prices. International Review of Economics & Finance, 77, 206–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2021.10.001

Jin, J., Han, L., Wu, L., & Zeng, H. (2020). The hedging effect of green bonds on carbon market risk. International Review of Financial Analysis, 71, Article 101509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2020.101509

Kamal, J. B., Wohar, M., & Kamal, K. B. (2022). Do gold, oil, equities, and currencies hedge economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks during covid crisis? Resources Policy, 78, Article 102920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102920

Karim, S., Naeem, M. A., Mirza, N., & Paule-Vianez, J. (2022). Quantifying the hedge and safe-haven properties of bond markets for cryptocurrency indices. The Journal of Risk Finance, 23(2), 191–205. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRF-09-2021-0158

Lastrapes, W. D., & Wiesen, T. F. (2021). The joint spillover index. Economic Modelling, 94, 681–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2020.02.010

Le, T.-L., Abakah, E. J. A., & Tiwari, A. K. (2021). Time and frequency domain connectedness and spill-over among fintech, green bonds and cryptocurrencies in the age of the fourth industrial revolution. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, Article 120382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120382

Lee, C.-C., & Chen, M.-P. (2020). Do natural disasters and geopolitical risks matter for cross-border country exchange-traded fund returns? The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 51, Article 101054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2019.101054

Lee, C.-C., & Lee, C.-C. (2024). Not all are alike: Assessing the effect of geopolitical risk on regional renewable energy development in China. Renewable Energy, 222, Article 119763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.119763

Lee, C.-C., Lee, C.-C., & Li, Y.-Y. (2021). Oil price shocks, geopolitical risks, and green bond market dynamics. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 55, Article 101309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2020.101309

Lee, C.-C., Tang, H., & Li, D. (2022). The roles of oil shocks and geopolitical uncertainties on China’s green bond returns. Economic Analysis and Policy, 74, 494–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2022.03.008

Lee, C.-C., Yu, C.-H., & Zhang, J. (2023). Heterogeneous dependence among cryptocurrency, green bonds, and sustainable equity: New insights from Granger-causality in quantiles analysis. International Review of Economics & Finance, 87, 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2023.04.027

Liu, N., Liu, C., Da, B., Zhang, T., & Guan, F. (2021). Dependence and risk spillovers between green bonds and clean energy markets. Journal of Cleaner Production, 279, Article 123595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123595

Markowitz, H. M. (1959). Portfolio selection: Efficient diversification of investments. Yale University Press.

McInerney, C., & Bunn, D. W. (2019). Expansion of the investor base for the energy transition. Energy Policy, 129, 1240–1244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.035

Mensi, W., Rehman, M. U., & Vo, X. V. (2022). Impacts of COVID-19 outbreak, macroeconomic and financial stress factors on price spillovers among green bond. International Review of Financial Analysis, 81, Article 102125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2022.102125

Naeem, M. A., Conlon, T., & Cotter, J. (2022). Green bonds and other assets: Evidence from extreme risk transmission. Journal of Environmental Management, 305, Article 114358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114358

Naeem, M. A., Raza Rabbani, M., Karim, S., & Billah, S. M. (2023). Religion vs ethics: Hedge and safe haven properties of Sukuk and green bonds for stock markets pre- and during COVID-19. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 16(2), 234–252. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMEFM-06-2021-0252

Newey, W. K., & West, K. D. (1987). A simple, positive semi-definite, heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent covariance matrix. Econometrica, 55(3), 703–708. https://doi.org/10.2307/1913610

Nguyen, T. T. H., Naeem, M. A., Balli, F., Balli, H. O., & Vo, X. V. (2021). Time-frequency comovement among green bonds, stocks, commodities, clean energy, and conventional bonds. Finance Research Letters, 40, Article 101739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101739

Ning, Y., Cherian, J., Sial, M. S., Álvarez-Otero, S., Comite, U., & Zia-Ud-Din, M. (2023). Green bond as a new determinant of sustainable green financing, energy efficiency investment, and economic growth: A global perspective. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(22), 61324–61339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-18454-7

OECD. (2020). Global outlook on financing for sustainable development 2021: A new way to invest for people and planet. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/e3c30a9a-en

Park, D., Park, J., & Ryu, D. (2020). Volatility spillovers between equity and green bond markets. Sustainability, 12(9), Article 3722. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093722

Patel, P. C., & Pereira, I. (2021). The relationship between terrorist attacks and cryptocurrency returns. Applied Economics, 53(8), 940–961. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2020.1819952

Pham, L. (2021). Frequency connectedness and cross-quantile dependence between green bond and green equity markets. Energy Economics, 98, Article 105257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105257

Qin, Y., Hong, K., Chen, J., & Zhang, Z. (2020). Asymmetric effects of geopolitical risks on energy returns and volatility under different market conditions. Energy Economics, 90, Article 104851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104851

Rossi, B. (2005). Optimal tests for nested model selection with underlying parameter instability. Econometric Theory, 21(5), 962–990. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266466605050486

Rossi, B., & Wang, Y. (2019). Vector autoregressive-based Granger causality test in the presence of instabilities. Stata Journal, 19(4), 883–899. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X19893631

Sartzetakis, E. S. (2021). Green bonds as an instrument to finance low carbon transition. Economic Change and Restructuring, 54(3), 755–779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-020-09266-9

Smales, L. A. (2021). Geopolitical risk and volatility spillovers in oil and stock markets. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 80, 358–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2021.03.008

Sohag, K., Hammoudeh, S., Elsayed, A. H., Mariev, O., & Safonova, Y. (2022). Do geopolitical events transmit opportunity or threat to green markets? Decomposed measures of geopolitical risks. Energy Economics, 111, Article 106068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106068

Solomon, S., Plattner, G.-K., Knutti, R., & Friedlingstein, P. (2009). Irreversible climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(6), 1704–1709. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0812721106

Su, C.-W., Qin, M., Tao, R., Shao, X.-F., Albu, L. L., & Umar, M. (2020). Can Bitcoin hedge the risks of geopolitical events? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 159, Article 120182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120182

Tang, Y., Chen, X. H., Sarker, P. K., & Baroudi, S. (2023). Asymmetric effects of geopolitical risks and uncertainties on green bond markets. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 189, Article 122348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122348

Tian, H., Long, S., & Li, Z. (2022). Asymmetric effects of climate policy uncertainty, infectious diseases-related uncertainty, crude oil volatility, and geopolitical risks on green bond prices. Finance Research Letters, 48, Article 103008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103008

TheCityUK. (2022). Green finance: A quantitative assessment of market trends. https://www.thecityuk.com/media/l0lhnctn/green-finance-a-quantitative-assessment-of-market-trends-1.pdf

Ul Haq, I., Maneengam, A., Chupradit, S., & Huo, C. (2023). Are green bonds and sustainable cryptocurrencies truly sustainable? Evidence from a wavelet coherence analysis. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 36(1), 807–826. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2080739

Umar, Z., Bossman, A., Choi, S.-Y., & Teplova, T. (2022). Does geopolitical risk matter for global asset returns? Evidence from quantile-on-quantile regression. Finance Research Letters, 48, Article 102991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.102991

Wang, K.-H., Su, C.-W., Umar, M., & Lobonţ, O.-R. (2023). Oil price shocks, economic policy uncertainty, and green finance: A case of China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 29(2), 500–517. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2022.17999

Wei, P., Qi, Y., Ren, X., & Duan, K. (2022). Does economic policy uncertainty affect green bond markets? Evidence from wavelet-based quantile analysis. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 58(15), 4375–4388. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2022.2069487

Wu, H., Zhu, H., Chen, Y., & Huang, F. (2023). Time-frequency connectedness of policy uncertainty, geopolitical risk and Chinese commodity markets: Evidence from rolling window analysis. Applied Economics, 55(1), 90–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2022.2056571

Wu, S., Tong, M., Yang, Z., & Derbali, A. (2019). Does gold or Bitcoin hedge economic policy uncertainty? Finance Research Letters, 31, 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2019.04.001

Xia, Y., Li, J., & Fu, Y. (2022). Are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) different asset classes? Evidence from quantile connectedness approach. Finance Research Letters, 49, Article 103156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103156

Xia, Y., Shi, Z., Du, X., Niu, M., & Cai, R. (2023). Can green assets hedge against economic policy uncertainty? Evidence from China with portfolio implications. Finance Research Letters, 55, Article 103874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2023.103874

Zhang, Z., He, M., Zhang, Y., & Wang, Y. (2022). Geopolitical risk trends and crude oil price predictability. Energy, 258, Article 124824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124824