Climate Attitudes and Asymmetric Belief Updating in Sustainable Investments: Experimental Evidence from Hungary

Authors

  • Attila Zoltán Nagy Institute of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Pécs, Hungary https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3261-249X
  • Sándo Erdős Institute of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Pécs, Hungary https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0573-5391

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v12i2.2133

Keywords:

Behavioral Finance, Sustainable Investments, Environmental Economics, Investor Psychology

Abstract

This study examines whether and to what extent investors update their expectations for a green portfolio's performance upon receiving information that is either better or worse than the previously provided anchor. We conducted an experiment with 492 Hungarian investors to observe how their beliefs regarding green investment returns change when they receive good or bad news. Individuals with low green attitudes were more likely to revise their estimates in response to bad news than good news, indicating asymmetric updating. Moreover, individuals with strong green attitudes responded more strongly to good news than those with weak green attitudes. These findings suggest that attitudes toward climate issues influence how investors react to information about green portfolios. This study contributes to the literature on information processing in financial markets by highlighting the role of belief updating and climate attitudes in sustainable investment decision-making.

Author Biographies

Attila Zoltán Nagy, Institute of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Pécs, Hungary

Attila Zoltán Nagy is a finance researcher and author with over 18 years of experience in stock market investing. He has published extensively on behavioral finance and market anomalies, including three books summarizing hundreds of academic sources. His academic work has appeared in journals such as Hitelintézeti Szemle and Statisztikai Szemle. He is a member of the ESG Research Group at the University of Pécs and regularly delivers investment lectures for financial institutions.

Sándo Erdős, Institute of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Pécs, Hungary

Dr. Sándor Erdős is an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Pécs, Faculty of Business and Economics, Institute of Finance and Accounting. He holds a PhD in Economics. His teaching covers corporate finance and investment-related courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He has contributed to university textbooks and published research in international journals, including the Review of Behavioral Finance and the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics. His research focuses on investor behavior, behavioral finance, and corporate valuation.

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Published

2025-12-07

How to Cite

Nagy, A. Z., & Erdős, S. (2025). Climate Attitudes and Asymmetric Belief Updating in Sustainable Investments: Experimental Evidence from Hungary. Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research (JEECAR), 12(2), 54–65. https://doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v12i2.2133