過往文獻發現基金經理人和董事的性別對於基金績效有顯著影響，可能因為性別不同導致樂觀與風險趨避程度不同，進而影響基金績效。本文探討 COVID-19 流行期間，男性的樂觀特性和女性的風險規避特性，更容易造成資產配置的不同，進而更容易影響不動產投資信託基金（REITs）的績效。本文使用美國 2017 年到 2022 年 136 家 REITs 的資料及Fama French 多因子模型，來估計不同 REITs 的績效差異。而後，使用 probit 模型，將公司治理相關變數做為控制變數，估計 REITs 在COVID-19影響下的績效差異，是否與基金經理人或董事的性別有關。研究結果顯示，女性董事的數量與 REITs 績效有顯著正向影響，與本研究的假說一致。

Previous studies have suggested that the gender of fund managers and directors might have an impact on investment decisions and fund performance, and this idea has also been verified in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). A possible explanation is that managers and directors of different genders have different levels of optimism and risk aversion in decision-making behavior. This study aims to examine the effect of male optimism and female risk aversion on asset allocation, which is likely to influence performance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses the panel data of 136 US REITs for the time period from 2017 to 2022 to investigate the impact of the gender of managers and directors on the performance of REITs before and during/after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study first applies the Fama-French multi-factor model to estimate the performance of different REITs. Then, a probit model is used to assess whether the performance differences of REITs under COVID impact are related to the gender of directors. The results reveal a significant and positive relationship between board gender diversity and US REIT performance, confirming the main hypothesis.

Abstract (Mandarin) ………………………………………………… I
Abstract …………………………………………………………… II
Table of Contents ………………………………………………… III
List of Tables ……………………………………………………… IV
Chapter 1 Introduction ………………………………………………… 1
Chapter 2 Literature Review…………………………………………… 5
2.1 The Importance of Gender Diversity……………… 5
2.2 Gender Difference in Optimism Level ………………………… 7
2.3 Gender Difference in Asset Allocation …………………… 8
2.4 Optimism Level in Firm Performance ………………………… 12
2.5 Gender Difference in Firm Performance ……………………… 13
2.6 Gender Difference in REITs ………………………………… 20
2.7 COVID-19 Impact on REITs ………………………………… 23
2.8 Summary ……………………………………………………… 25
Chapter 3 Data and Model …………………………………………… 26
3.1 Data Collection and Descriptions ……………………………… 26
3.2 Model Formulation …………………………………………… 38
3.2.1 Stage 1 ………………………………………………… 38
3.2.2 Stage 2 ………………………………………………… 43
Chapter 4 Result Analysis …………………………………………… 47
Chapter 5 Conclusion ………………………………………………… 55
Reference ……………………………………………………………… 58
Data Reference ……………………………………………………… 65

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