低碳城市试点政策与企业ESG表现——基于企业投资偏好的视角

Low-Carbon Pilot City Policy and Corporate ESG Performance:A Perspective Based on Investment Preferences

低碳城市试点政策是推动中国企业可持续发展的重要举措。本文基于2009-2021年A股上市公司数据,研究了低碳城市试点政策对企业ESG表现的影响及作用机制。结果表明,低碳城市试点政策能够显著提高企业ESG表现以及E和G维度的表现。机制检验发现,试点政策通过增加企业环保投资和高素质人力资本投资来改善ESG表现。命令型环境规制是试点政策发挥作用的主要手段,市场型和自愿型环境规制会削弱试点政策效果。异质性分析发现,试点政策的ESG提升作用,在国有企业和低融资约束企业中更显著,在绿色技术创新、高素质人力资本充沛以及东部地区的企业中也更显著。

The low-carbon city pilot policy(LCPC)is an important measure to promote the sustainable development of Chinese enterprises.This paper utilizes data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2021 to analyze whether and how the LCPC affects corporate ESG performance.Results indicate that the LCPC can significantly improve corporate ESG performance,particularly in the environmental and governance dimensions.Mechanism tests suggest that the policy can improve ESG performance through increased environmental and high-quality human capital investment.The commandcontrol environmental regulations are the primary mean by which the LCPC enhances corporate ESG performance,while market-based and voluntary environmental regulations reduce such investments,weakening the policy's effect on ESG improvement.Heterogeneous analysis reveals that the policy has a positive impact on ESG performance for state-owned enterprises and enterprises with low financing constraints.In addition,it has a promoting effect on corporate ESG performance in regions with more green technology innovation and abundant high-quality human capital,and in the eastern regions.