Is Davos More Than a Boondoggle?

Since 1971, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos has attracted the leadership of global corporations. Attendance may offer economic benefits through networking and political support or provide only private gains without measurable impact. Through creating a novel database of WEF attendees (2009-2018) matched with firm-level data, we analyze stock market performance, corporate ratings, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) scores. Regression results, including annual and daily event studies, suggest that WEF attendance does not systematically improve stock performance or credit ratings. However, WEF attendance positively impacts ESG scores, especially the social sub-score, indicating beneficial takeholder effects.

Kiel Institute Expert