《物权法》出台、融资约束与民营企业投资效率——基于双重差分法的经验分析

Enactment of the Property Law, Financial Constraints and Investment Efficiency of Private-Owned Enterprises——Empirical Analysis Based on Difference-in-Differences Method

在中国转变经济发展方式、迫切需要提高发展质量的背景下,法律制度环境变化是否以及如何影响企业投资效率的问题受到密切关注。本文运用双重差分法,考察以《物权法》出台为标志的担保物权制度改革对民营企业投资效率的影响。实证结果表明,《物权法》出台之后,与固定资产占比较高的企业相比,固定资产占比较低的企业投资对投资机会的反应更灵敏,其投资效率显著提升。与担保物权制度改革通过缓解融资约束提升投资效率的理论预期一致,进一步检验结果表明:(1)企业受融资约束的程度越强,《物权法》出台对投资效率的提升作用越大;(2)地区制度环境越好,《物权法》出台通过缓解融资约束提升投资效率的作用力度越强。本文发现有助于厘清融资约束与投资效率之间的联系和作用机理,并对如何完善法律制度环境以提升企业投资效率具有重要启示意义。

Employing the Difference-in-Differences methodology,we try to explain how legal reforms impact firms’investment efficiency by considering how private firms’investment efficiency responds to the enactment of the 2007 Property Law in China.We find that this legal reform leads to a significant increase in firms’investment efficiency and the effect is more pronounced for those firms with a lower proportion of fixed assets.Consistent to the theoretical assumption that the reform improves investment efficiency through alleviating financing constraints,and firms with more severe financial constraints or firms located at regions with better quality of institution,the extent of the legal effect on investment efficiency is greater.Our study clarifies the causal relationship between financing constraints and investment efficiency and has important policy implications on how to promote institutions to further improve firms’investment efficiency.