The impact of board gender quotas on analyst recommendations: A difference-in-differences analysis

Abstract

Norway provides the study case for the investigation of the effects of board gender quotas on corporate outcomes. The debate that ultimately led to the enactment of the quota was heated and polarized, with quota opponents arguing that the inability of the owners of the firm to choose the best candidates for the board (regardless of their gender) will result in poorly managed firms. Although several articles have empirically examined the impact of the Norwegian gender quota on performance, the available evidence is inconclusive. These articles use the return on assets and/or Tobin’s Q as indicators of performance. The present study contributes to the literature by providing a new and complementary approach to this research topic. With this aim, we investigate the impact of board gender quotas on analysts’ perceptions of performance, as measured by investment recommendations. The research design adopts a difference-in-differences methodology coupled with fixed-effects panel data estimations. Results document that recommendations on Norwegian stocks did not change significantly after the enactment of the quota. This result is robust, as it holds across a variety of sensitivity analyses and checks.