Do macroeconomic institutional factors matter for carbon disclosure? A study on the largest carbon emitters

Abstract

The present study aims to respond to the following research question: What is the influence of the institutional context on the disclosure of carbon emission?  This study is supported by the Variety of Capitalism approach and the hypotheses were built considering the main characteristics of capitalism: the role of the state, the role of financial markets, the role of human capital, the role of social capital and the role of corporate governance. The sample in this research comprises the world largest carbon emitters, composed by 1579 companies headquartered in 19 countries. Our findings show that certain characteristics of capitalism influence carbon disclosure. The results provide contributions to the field of study, as it broadens the understanding of carbon disclosure from a macroeconomic perspective. Additionally, this study has managerial and governmental implications, promoting the debate of how the behavior of firms towards climate change is shaped by the state-society relationship.