ESG信息披露数量降低了公司债务融资成本吗?

Does the Quantity of ESG Information Disclosure Reduce the Cost of Corporate Debt Financing?

现有文献大多探讨ESG的益处,但这难以解释中国上市公司ESG信息低披露率现象。本文基于融资结构中占比最高、依赖性最强的债务融资视角,探索微观企业ESG信息披露能否降低债务融资成本。研究结果显示:第一,企业ESG信息披露数量越多,债务融资成本越高,并且这一效应主要体现在较为主观且难以验证的环境(E)和社会责任(S)维度。第二,经济政策不确定性凸显了非财务信息的“类保险”作用,体现为削弱了ESG信息披露数量与债务融资成本的正相关关系。区分债务期限结构进行研究,发现上述结论主要体现在短期债主导的企业。从时间维度上看,ESG信息披露的消极影响随着企业披露年限增加逐渐减弱,并且在《关于构建绿色金融体系的指导意见》出台后出现反转。进一步研究发现:公司会计稳健性提升、地区金融科技发展、数字普惠金融水平提升和媒体报道增加均有助于缓解ESG信息披露的不利影响。机制分析发现ESG信息披露数量通过传递短期经营压力信号和提升信息漂绿风险两条路径提高了公司债务融资成本。文章阐述了新兴经济体ESG实践过程中面临的潜在挑战,为推进经济高质量发展提供参考。

Facing profound changes unseen in a century, the mounting uncertainty has elevated the importance oflong-term sustainable development as a key criterion for assessing corporate performance, with the ESG (Environmental, Social,and Corporate Governance) framework gaining increasing popularity among global investors and managers. However, previousresearch has primarily focused on the benefits of ESG, which fails to explain the low disclosure rate of ESG information byChinese listed companies.This study takes the perspective of debt financing, which has the highest proportion and strongest dependence on the financingstructure, to explore whether micro-level ESG information disclosure can reduce the cost of debt financing. The researchfindings are as follows: Firstly, the higher the quantity of ESG information disclosure by the company, the higher the costof debt financing, and this effect is mainly reflected in the subjective and difficult-to-verify dimensions of the environment andsocial responsibility. Secondly, economic policy uncertainty highlights the“quasi-insurance effect”of non-financial information,manifested as weakening the positive relationship between the quantity of ESG information disclosure and the cost of debtfinancing. By differentiating the debt maturity structure, the above conclusions are mainly reflected in companies dominated byshort-term debt. From a temporal perspective, the negative impact of ESG information decreases gradually as the disclosureyears of the company increase, and it is effectively reversed after the issuance of the“Guidelines for the Construction of aGreen Financial System”. Further research reveals that the enhancement of corporate accounting conservatism, regional financialtechnology, digital inclusive finance, and increased media coverage all contribute to mitigating the adverse effects of ESGinformation disclosure. Mechanism analysis reveals that the quantity of ESG information disclosure increases the cost of corporatedebt financing through two pathways: transmitting short-term operational pressure signals and increasing information asymmetryrisks.This paper not only expands the understanding of factors influencing the cost of corporate debt financing through the lensof multi-dimensional non-financial information disclosure but also analyzes the potential challenges and corresponding strategiesfaced by emerging countries in the implementation of ESG, providing empirical evidence for fostering high-quality economicdevelopment.