“Our main finding is that competition can lead rating providers to become generalists even when specialization would produce more information. This distortion is most likely to arise when investors care very strongly about ESG performance.”

[COMMENTARY] The researchers behind this paper provide valuable insights into the ESG ratings industry.
The Market for ESG Ratings, by Ehsan Azarmsa (University of Illinois Chicago) and Joel Shapiro (University of Oxford), September 9, 2026, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, USA.