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Why do seemingly similar firms show such different productivity? We argue that unresolved measurement problems, i.e., the persistent incongruity between economic transactions and their accounting representation, affect resource allocation. Our metric quantifies technical accounting terminology in firm disclosures to capture these unresolved measurement problems, UMPs, using over 90,000 10-Ks. A one standard deviation increase in UMP is associated with lower capital investment (6 percent), R&D (5 percent), and hiring growth (30 percent). We also find a reduction in total factor productivity (5 percent) and Tobin’s q (4 percent). Further, CEO compensation sensitivity to accounting performance decreases with UMP, whereas stock-based sensitivity remains unaffected. Our inferences continue to hold when we use a Bartik instrument, which exploits differential exposure to GAAP changes to isolate accounting-driven variation from the firm’s underlying economics. The results suggest unresolved measurement problems are a significant friction in resource allocation.

Climate change presents huge challenges for financial markets. How should firm-level exposure to climate change be measured? Does a risk premium for climate change exposure exist? If so, how does it evolve over time? Which underlying climate-related economic variables drive this risk premium? In light of these challenging questions, significant resources have been allocated to develop the area of climate finance to better grasp how the transition to a low-carbon economy affects financial markets. This paper provides additional evidence to understand more fully how climate-related risks and opportunities affect stock returns.