I examine how mandatory ESG disclosure regulations transmit to unregulated firms through ESG rating agencies’ peer benchmarking. Using the United Kingdom’s 2017 gender pay gap (GPG) disclosure mandate with its expected positive rating consequences for regulated U.K. firms, I show that unregulated firms with similar Refinitiv ESG ratings are significantly more likely to voluntarily disclose GPG information after the mandate. The effect is more pronounced when peers are defined by ESG rating similarity rather than market capitalization and is not driven by industry affiliation alone. Consistent with ESG ratings creating competitive pressures, spillovers are strongest when U.K. peers were initially lower ranked and when unregulated firms can report relatively better GPG performance. Further analyses show that these spillovers extend to other social disclosures and generalize to the European Union’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive. Overall, the paper highlights how ESG rating structures extend the reach of disclosure regulations beyond their formal scope. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text

This study examines the determinants and consequences of broker in-house ESG research. Using manually collected brokerage ESG research data, we find that the provision of in-house ESG research is positively related to both demand-side factors (client demand, internal demand, and local ESG awareness) and supply-side factors (broker size and coverage of sustainable industries). Regarding the consequences of such research, we find that in-house ESG research is associated with improved earnings forecast accuracy in industries where ESG is more salient. Further, the market reaction to earnings forecast revisions is stronger when equity analysts have access to in-house ESG research. Finally, we observe a consistent pattern suggesting that ESG analysts support equity analysts beyond forecast accuracy, as equity analysts with access to in-house ESG research issue more accurate target prices, more informative recommendation upgrades for ESG-heavy industries, and discuss ESG issues more extensively in their analyst reports. Data Availability Statement: The data used in this study are obtained from publicly available sources identified in the paper, as well as job posting data licensed from Lightcast. Sample construction procedures are described in the paper. Researchers interested in the job posting data should contact Lightcast directly, as access is subject to licensing restrictions