绿色地方政府专项债对企业环境、社会和公司治理表现的影响研究

Impact of Green Local Government Special Bonds on Firms’ESG Performance

党的十八届五中全会提出绿色新发展理念后,地方政府在促进企业绿色转型过程中担负重要职责。基于2015-2021年中国A股上市公司数据,将绿色地方政府专项债(简称绿色专项债)发行信息与企业环境、社会和公司治理(Environmental,Social and Governance,简称ESG)评分数据匹配,通过构建多时点双重差分模型实证检验发行绿色专项债对企业ESG评分的影响。研究发现,绿色专项债的发行显著提高了企业ESG评分,这一结论经过一系列稳健性检验后依然成立。进一步研究发现,该促进作用不仅通过提高企业绿色管理和绿色技术创新水平实现,还存在诱发企业“漂绿”自身报表的风险。此外,该促进作用在企业所处行业、所有制和所在地财政压力方面呈现出显著的异质性。基于上述结论,将地方政府专项债和绿色发展理念相联系、进一步推广绿色专项债,对发挥地方政府在环境治理中的作用和推动企业绿色转型具有重要意义。

After the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed the new concept of green development,local governments have taken on significant responsibilities in promoting the green transformation of enterprises.Based on data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2021,this study matches the issuance information of green local government special bonds(green special bonds)with the Environmental,Social,and Governance(ESG)rating data of enterprises.Using a multi-period difference-in-differences model,empirically analyze the impact of green special bond issuance on firms’ESG ratings.The results indicate that the issuance of green special bonds significantly improves firms’ESG ratings,and this conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests.Further analysis reveals that this positive effect is achieved not only by enhancing firms’green management and green technological innovation but also by inducing the risk of“greenwashing”in firms’reports.Additionally,this effect shows significant heterogeneity in terms of the industry,ownership structure,and fiscal pressure of the firm’s location.Based on these findings,linking local government special bonds with the green development concept and further promoting green special bonds can enhance the role of local governments in environmental governance and advance the green transformation of enterprises.