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The High-Speed Railway Opening and Audit Fees: Evidence from China

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  • Dongshan Ma

    (Business School, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110136, China)

  • Shengqiang Zhang

    (Sun Wah International Business School, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110136, China)

  • Jiayu Zhao

    (Sun Wah International Business School, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110136, China)

Abstract

By constructing a staggered difference-in-differences model, we examined the effect of the high-speed railway opening on audit fees and its mechanism. The high-speed railway opening significantly reduces audit fees, and the inhibitory effect is more pronounced in firms located in non-central cities and small- and medium-sized audit firms. Furthermore, the high-speed railway opening mainly affects the audit fees by intensifying the competition in the audit market, but information asymmetry has no significant impact, indicating that the high-speed railway opening mainly reduces the audit fees by reducing the audit costs. In addition, the high-speed railway opening can improve the audit quality, which further shows that the high-speed railway opening can promote reasonable competition in the audit market.

Suggested Citation

  • Dongshan Ma & Shengqiang Zhang & Jiayu Zhao, 2022. "The High-Speed Railway Opening and Audit Fees: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13353-:d:944657
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