연구논문 ESG평점과 한국 기업의 생산성 ESG Scores and Firm Productivity: Evidence from South Korea 김정욱(Jungwook Kim)이종화(Jong Hwa Lee)·················································1 진술선호방법에서 시각적 자료 활용의 효과 The Impact of Visual Representation in Stated Preference Method 전호철(Hocheol Jeon)······························································································27 환경급전제도 시행과 평가: 탄소 시장의 충격 전이효과 분석 Impact Assessment of Environmental Power Provisioning: Analyzing Spillovers between Energy and Carbon Markets 이서진(Seojin Lee)유종민(Jongmin Yu)·····························································55 배출권거래제 할당정책 개편에 따른 발전부문 할당량 변화와 전력시장 영향 분석 Impact of Allocation Policy Changes in Korea’s ETS on the Power Sector Permit Allocation and Electricity Market 임정민(Jungmin Lim)이성준(Seongjun Lee)이주은(Jueun Lee) 김도원(Dowon Kim)································································································79 전환부문 배출권 유상할당 확대의 경제 효과 분석 Economic Impact Analysis of Expanding Allowance Auctioning for the Electricity Sector in the Korean Emissions Trading System 정창우(Changwoo Chung)김진수(Jinsoo Kim)···················································127 차 례•1• ESG Scores and Firm Productivity: Evidence from South Korea Jungwook Kim* and Jong Hwa Lee** ABSTRACT : This study tests the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores and firm productivity in South Korea. We employ a lagged-term regression analysis and instrumental variable approach to find that the composite score of ESG is inade- quate in explaining total factor productivity (TFP). This finding is due to the mixed direction that each E, S, and G component has on TFP. The governance component consistently impacts firm productivity while Environment and Social components do not. Additionally, labor productivity is positively linked with ESG scores. We argue that the labor market is the channel through which the ESG performance and firm productivity are linked and whether firms can exploit this channel depends on financial restrictions. Keywords : Corporate Governance, ESG, productivity, South Korea JEL Classifications : G1, G3, G4 자원 ․ 환경경제연구 제34권 제1호 Environmental and Resource Economics Review Volume 34, Number 1, March 2025: pp. 1~26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15266/KEREA.2025.34.1.1 Received: March 5, 2024. Revised: September 6, 2024. Accepted: January 14, 2025. **Senior Fellow, Center for International Development, Korea Development Institute, First author (e-mail: awaker2@kdi.re.kr) **Assistant Professor, Division of International Trade, Incheon National University, Corresponding author (e-mail: joelee@inu.ac.kr)Jungwook Kim and Jong Hwa Lee •2• ESG평점과 한국 기업의 생산성 김정욱 * ‧이종화** 본 연구는 최근에 많은 관심을 갖는 한국 금융시장에 상장된 기업들의 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) 평점이 총요소생산성과 관계가 있는지 모색한다. 내생성을 극 복하기 위해 도구변수방법과 지연회귀분석(Lagged-term regression)을 활용해서 환경, 사회, 지배구조의 질을 대변하는 종합지수는 기업의 생산성을 설명하기엔 부족하다는 결과를 보인다. 그러나 ESG 점수는 노동 생산성과 긍정적으로 관련되어 있다는 결과를 도출한다. 노동 시장이 ESG 성과와 기업 생산성이 연결된 경로임을 주장하며, 기업이 이 경로를 활용할 수 있는지는 재정 제약에 달려 있다고 분석한다. ESG, 총요소생산성, 지배구조 접수일(2024년 3월 5일), 수정일(2024년 9월 6일), 게재확정일(2025년 1월 14일) *한국개발연구원 국제개발협력센터 선임연구위원, 제1저자(e-mail: awaker2@kdi.re.kr) **인천대학교 무역학부 조교수, 교신저자(e-mail: joelee@inu.ac.kr) ESG Scores and Firm Productivity: Evidence from South Korea •3• Ⅰ. Introduction Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG, henceforth) is a theme that people worldwide are quite familiar with, especially in recent years. Economists endeavored to find the ripple effects of enforcing firms to be ESG-friendly instead of traditionally looking out for one’s best interests, i.e. maximizing profit. Environmental (E) and Social (S) efforts seem contradictory to the economic principles because devoting effort to any other than increasing sales and/or profit is deemed inef- ficient. Finance and economics researchers approach this perspective dynamically and explain the rationale behind pursuing Environmental and Social friendliness by consid- ering the demand and awareness of customers and investors. Principles of Responsible Investment by the United Nations encourages investors to consider non-financial and non-fundamental firm characteristics related to ESG. The “green” movement globally has shifted customers away from consuming products made by corporations that are haz- ardous to the environment and society. These reasons incentivize firms to improve overall ESG performance to build a reputation and to outperform their peers over the long term. The question is whether a non-financial indicator, an ESG performance measure, increases a fundamental measure, firm productivity. United Nations launched Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006, when corporate governance began to be measured in South Korea by the Korea Corporate Gov- ernance Service. The total assets under management have grown tremendously, quin- tupling in a decade. Much attention is headed toward ESG ratings and their credibility. Studies find that ESG-related funds and portfolios outperform in excess returns (Madhavan et al., 2021). While studies suggest that investors react to ESG news and ratings, the link between ESG ratings and firm fundamentals remains fuzzy and needs to be explored. The channel through which ESG performance affects productivity is heavily under study. The two are through the labor market and innovation. ESG-friendly firms attract skilled employees. With a better outlook on employment benefits, governance, and Next >