IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v77y2023ics0927538x22002293.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of central environmental inspection on institutional ownership: Evidence from Chinese listed firms

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Quan
  • Chen, Yang
  • Wan, Mengfei

Abstract

As a major innovation of China's environmental regulatory framework, the central environmental inspection (CEI) policy has a significant effect on ecology and the economy, but research on its effects on institutional investors and listed firms is scarce. This paper uses panel data from China's A-share listed firms to investigate the impact of CEI on institutional investors' ownership in listed firms. We use the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) method and find that this impact is significant and positive. We also find that institutional investors tend to increase their holdings in firms that are positively affected by CEI in terms of ecological responsibility and total factor productivity. After dividing the sample and performing regression analysis, we find that only listed firms belonging to heavily polluting industries and non-state-owned enterprises experience an increase in institutional ownership after CEI. In addition, firms subject to more institutional investor attention receive more investment after CEI. Our results demonstrate that CEI does not cause institutional investors to invest less in listed firms in polluting industries and does not make these firms worse off, which sheds light on the economic impact of CEI.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Quan & Chen, Yang & Wan, Mengfei, 2023. "The impact of central environmental inspection on institutional ownership: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:77:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x22002293
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2022.101934
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X22002293
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2022.101934?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Bing & Chen, Xiaolan & Guo, Huanxiu, 2018. "Does central supervision enhance local environmental enforcement? Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 70-90.
    2. François Derrien & Ambrus Kecskés, 2013. "The Real Effects of Financial Shocks: Evidence from Exogenous Changes in Analyst Coverage," Post-Print hal-00852356, HAL.
    3. R. De Santis & C. Jona Lasinio, 2016. "Environmental Policies, Innovation and Productivity in the EU," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(4), pages 615-635, December.
    4. Qiang Cheng & Fei Du & Xin Wang & Yutao Wang, 2016. "Seeing is believing: analysts’ corporate site visits," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1245-1286, December.
    5. Hering, Laura & Poncet, Sandra, 2014. "Environmental policy and exports: Evidence from Chinese cities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 296-318.
    6. Steven Balsam & Eli Bartov & Carol Marquardt, 2002. "Accruals Management, Investor Sophistication, and Equity Valuation: Evidence from 10–Q Filings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 987-1012, September.
    7. Youliang Jin & Chen Cheng & Huixiang Zeng, 2020. "Is evil rewarded with evil? The market penalty effect of corporate environmentally irresponsible events," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 846-871, March.
    8. Michael Greenstone & John A. List & Chad Syverson, 2011. "The Effects of Environmental Regulation on the Competiveness of U.S. Manufacturing," Working Papers 11-03, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    9. Wei Peng & Chi-Chuan Lee & Ke Xiong, 2021. "What Determines the Subsidy Decision Bias of Local Governments? An Enterprise Heterogeneity Perspective," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(4), pages 1215-1231, March.
    10. Kemp, René & Pontoglio, Serena, 2011. "The innovation effects of environmental policy instruments — A typical case of the blind men and the elephant?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 28-36.
    11. Qiang Cheng & Fei Du & Brian Yutao Wang & Xin Wang, 2019. "Do Corporate Site Visits Impact Stock Prices?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(1), pages 359-388, March.
    12. Brian J. Bushee, 2001. "Do Institutional Investors Prefer Near†Term Earnings over Long†Run Value?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), pages 207-246, June.
    13. Chen, Tao & Harford, Jarrad & Lin, Chen, 2015. "Do analysts matter for governance? Evidence from natural experiments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 383-410.
    14. Cohen, Randolph B. & Gompers, Paul A. & Vuolteenaho, Tuomo, 2002. "Who underreacts to cash-flow news? evidence from trading between individuals and institutions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 409-462.
    15. Bin Ke & Kathy Petroni, 2004. "How Informed Are Actively Trading Institutional Investors? Evidence from Their Trading Behavior before a Break in a String of Consecutive Earnings Increases," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 895-927, December.
    16. Wen, Fenghua & Zou, Qian & Wang, Xiong, 2021. "The contrarian strategy of institutional investors in Chinese stock market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    17. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    18. Li Chang & Wenjing Li & Xiaoyan Lu, 2015. "Government Engagement, Environmental Policy, and Environmental Performance: Evidence from the Most Polluting Chinese Listed Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 1-19, January.
    19. Jiang, Xuanyu & Yuan, Qingbo, 2018. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 148-168.
    20. Hong, Xin & Zhuang, Zhuang & Kang, Di & Wang, Zhibin, 2019. "Do corporate site visits impact hedge fund performance?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 113-128.
    21. Ping Wei & Xiaodan Mao & Xiaohong Chen, 2020. "Institutional investors' attention to environmental information, trading strategies, and market impacts: Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 566-591, February.
    22. Conrad, Klaus & Wastl, Dieter, 1995. "The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Productivity in German Industries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 615-633.
    23. Brian J. Bushee & Theodore H. Goodman, 2007. "Which Institutional Investors Trade Based on Private Information About Earnings and Returns?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 289-321, May.
    24. Gray, Wayne B. & Shadbegian, Ronald J., 2003. "Plant vintage, technology, and environmental regulation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 384-402, November.
    25. Prayag Lal Yadav & Seung Hun Han & Jae Jeung Rho, 2016. "Impact of Environmental Performance on Firm Value for Sustainable Investment: Evidence from Large US Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 402-420, September.
    26. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    27. Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Liu, Xiaoyan, 2020. "Stock market response to environmental policies: Evidence from heavily polluting firms in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 306-316.
    28. Wu, Yizhong & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Lee, Chi-Chuan & Peng, Diyun, 2022. "Geographic proximity and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from high-speed rail construction in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    29. Jan Endrikat, 2016. "Market Reactions to Corporate Environmental Performance Related Events: A Meta-analytic Consolidation of the Empirical Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 535-548, October.
    30. François Derrien & Ambrus Kecskés, 2013. "The Real Effects of Financial Shocks: Evidence from Exogenous Changes in Analyst Coverage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(4), pages 1407-1440, August.
    31. Chunyang Wang & Haiyang Zhang & Liping Lu & Xirui Wang & Ziyu Song, 2019. "Pollution and corporate valuation: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(32), pages 3516-3530, July.
    32. Baker, Andrew C. & Larcker, David F. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2022. "How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 370-395.
    33. Nie, Yongyou & Cheng, Dandan & Liu, Kui, 2020. "The effectiveness of environmental authoritarianism: Evidence from China's administrative inquiry for environmental protection," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    34. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2009. "On estimating firm-level production functions using proxy variables to control for unobservables," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 104(3), pages 112-114, September.
    35. Tian, Shu & Wu, Eliza & Wu, Qiongbing, 2018. "Who exacerbates the extreme swings in the Chinese stock market?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 50-59.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Weibo & Yuan, Bingru, 2024. "Intellectual property protection and M&A performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Yang & Zhang, Yifei & Kang, Wei & Ahmed, Ahmed Hassan, 2022. "Female analysts and COVID-19 corporate donation," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    2. Su, Fei & Feng, Xu & Tang, Songlian, 2021. "Do site visits mitigate corporate fraudulence? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Qi, Zhen & Chu, Chien-Chi & Zhou, Yixiao & Chen, Jian, 2022. "Corporate site visits and firm performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 598-608.
    4. Mian Yang & Yining Yuan & Fuxia Yang & Dalia Patino-Echeverri, 2021. "Effects of environmental regulation on firm entry and exit and China’s industrial productivity: a new perspective on the Porter Hypothesis," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(4), pages 915-944, October.
    5. Cao, June & Li, Wenwen & Bilokha, Alona, 2022. "Low-carbon city initiatives and analyst behaviour: A quasi-natural experiment," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Wu, Fang & Cao, June & Zhang, Xiaosan, 2023. "Do non-executive employees matter in curbing corporate financial fraud?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    7. Yang, Xia & Ma, Zhong, 2022. "Institutional investors’ corporate site visits and dividend payouts," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 697-716.
    8. To, Thomas Y. & Navone, Marco & Wu, Eliza, 2018. "Analyst coverage and the quality of corporate investment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 164-181.
    9. He Xiao, 2023. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate investment efficiency," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 359-392, June.
    10. Minhang Deng & Yunyi Wang & Gaoliang Tian & Bozhi Xu & Yuyan Tang, 2023. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and resource extraction: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(5), pages 5211-5243, December.
    11. Yanan Li & Wenjun Wang, 2022. "Company visits and mutual fund performance: new evidence on managerial skills," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(6), pages 504-521, October.
    12. Cao, Jerry & Wang, Hanyang & Zhou, Sili, 2022. "Soft activism and corporate dividend policy: Evidence from institutional investors site visits," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    13. Ryan P. McDonough, 2023. "Corporate communication and shareholder base retention: evidence from spin-offs," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1283-1327, May.
    14. Ma, Rui & Guo, Fei & Li, Dongdong, 2024. "Can public data availability affect stock price crash risk? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Lei Zheng & Xuemeng Guo & Libin Zhao, 2021. "How Does Transportation Infrastructure Improve Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from High-Speed Railway Openings in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, June.
    16. Jiang, Yahan & Wang, Cai & Li, Sha & Wan, Jing, 2022. "Do institutional investors' corporate site visits improve ESG performance? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    17. Nianhang Xu & Nian Li & Rongrong Xie & Kam C. Chan, 2022. "The power of the market over government officials: Evidence from an anticorruption campaign in China," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(4), pages 995-1030, December.
    18. Broadstock, David & Chen, Xiaoqi, 2021. "Corporate site visits, private monitoring and fraud: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    19. Li, Haoyang & Yang, Mingjing & Chan, Kam C. & Gao, Shenghao, 2022. "Do institutional investors’ corporate site visits impact seasoned equity offering discounts? Evidence from detailed investor bids in SEO auctions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    20. Cui, Huijie & Liang, Shangkun & Xu, Canyu & Junli, Yu, 2024. "Robots and analyst forecast precision: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:77:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x22002293. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pacfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.