IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6273-d1440635.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green Financial Policy, Resource Allocation and Corporate Environmental Responsibility

Author

Listed:
  • Xueying Yuan

    (School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China)

  • Lixia Shang

    (School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China)

  • Jinhua Xu

    (School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China)

Abstract

Green finance policy has emerged as a powerful driver for sustainable development worldwide, which has arisen at the top of the political agenda. Drawing on resource allocation theory, this study empirically investigates whether and how green finance policy affects corporate environmental responsibility in achieving sustainable development goals on a micro level. Taking China’s green finance reform and innovation (GFRI) pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper employs the difference-in-differences model to investigate the impact of green finance policy on corporate environmental responsibility. The evidence shows that the GFRI policy significantly promotes corporate environmental responsibility. The results hold robust after a series of checks such as parallel trend examination, placebo test, exclusion of other policies, and alternative variable measurement. Moreover, this study explores the potential mechanism channels from the perspective of resource allocation theory. Specifically, green finance policy ultimately accelerates corporate environmental responsibility through financing capacity and environmental protection supervision. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact of the GFRI policy on corporate environmental responsibility is more pronounced for companies in areas with superior green development, strong law enforcement, and higher levels of pollution. The above findings indicate that the formal institution of government-led green financial policy can positively affect corporate environmental responsibility, with regional green development and law enforcement factors enhancing the effectiveness of these policies. Furthermore, the level of local pollution further intensifies the corporate sensibility to such policy effects. Overall, our study sheds light on the significant role of green financial policy in fostering a sustainable economy, helping reconcile the mixed evidence on the financial function of green finance policy on the firm level.

Suggested Citation

  • Xueying Yuan & Lixia Shang & Jinhua Xu, 2024. "Green Financial Policy, Resource Allocation and Corporate Environmental Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-29, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6273-:d:1440635
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6273/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6273/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xu, Aiting & Zhu, Yuhan & Wang, Wenpu, 2023. "Micro green technology innovation effects of green finance pilot policy—From the perspectives of action points and green value," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Mazzucato, Mariana & Semieniuk, Gregor, 2018. "Financing renewable energy: Who is financing what and why it matters," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 8-22.
    3. Jinhua Xu & Feisan Ye & Xiaoxia Li, 2024. "Carbon intensity constraint policy and firm green innovation in China: a quasi-DID analysis," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3), pages 704-730, February.
    4. Rocío Redondo Alamillos & Frédéric de Mariz, 2022. "How Can European Regulation on ESG Impact Business Globally?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, June.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Ufuk Akcigit & Douglas Hanley & William Kerr, 2016. "Transition to Clean Technology," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(1), pages 52-104.
    6. Hüseyin Temiz, 2022. "Environmental performance and cost of finance: evidence from emerging markets," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(5), pages 1229-1250, June.
    7. Heinkel, Robert & Kraus, Alan & Zechner, Josef, 2001. "The Effect of Green Investment on Corporate Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 431-449, December.
    8. Rennings, Klaus & Ziegler, Andreas & Ankele, Kathrin & Hoffmann, Esther, 2006. "The influence of different characteristics of the EU environmental management and auditing scheme on technical environmental innovations and economic performance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 45-59, April.
    9. Zhizhong Liu & Shuchi Zheng & Xinyu Zhang & Long Mo, 2023. "The Impact of Green Finance on Export Technology Complexity: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-15, February.
    10. Pedersen, Lasse Heje & Fitzgibbons, Shaun & Pomorski, Lukasz, 2021. "Responsible investing: The ESG-efficient frontier," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 572-597.
    11. Huang, Zhehao & Liao, Gaoke & Li, Zhenghui, 2019. "Loaning scale and government subsidy for promoting green innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 148-156.
    12. Liu, Xinghe & Wang, Enxian & Cai, Danting, 2019. "Green credit policy, property rights and debt financing: Quasi-natural experimental evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 129-135.
    13. Oren Mooneeapen & Subhash Abhayawansa & Naushad Mamode Khan, 2022. "The influence of the country governance environment on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 953-985, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Zhe Xu & Ying Wang & Xiaoliang Shi & Yingying Qiu & Chunzi Su & Dan He, 2025. "The Impact of Environmental Subsidies and Enforcement on Green Innovation: Evidence from Heavy-Polluting Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-25, February.
    2. Qian, Shuitu & Yu, Wenzhe, 2024. "Green finance and environmental, social, and governance performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 1185-1202.
    3. Zhang, Xu & Wang, Pengmian & Xu, Qiuxiang, 2024. "Corporate environmental governance under the coordination of fiscal and financial policies: The case of green credit subsidy policy," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Skare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Sinkovic, Dean, 2023. "Regional aspects of financial development and renewable energy: A cross-sectional study in 214 countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1142-1157.
    5. Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio & Dam, Lammertjan, 2023. "The contributions of betas versus characteristics to the ESG premium," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 104-124.
    6. Ferriani, Fabrizio, 2023. "Issuing bonds during the Covid-19 pandemic: Was there an ESG premium?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    7. Shuanglian Chen & Zhehao Huang & Benjamin M. Drakeford & Pierre Failler, 2019. "Lending Interest Rate, Loaning Scale, and Government Subsidy Scale in Green Innovation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-22, November.
    8. Tan, Yafei & Zhu, Zhaohui, 2022. "The effect of ESG rating events on corporate green innovation in China: The mediating role of financial constraints and managers' environmental awareness," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Liu, Fengyun, 2024. "Does green credit promote the performance of new energy companies and how? The role of R&D investment and financial development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    10. Fan, Kwok Yuen & Shen, Jianfu & Hui, Eddie C.M. & Cheng, Louis T.W., 2024. "ESG components and equity returns: Evidence from real estate investment trusts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    11. Siying Long & Zhongju Liao, 2021. "Are fiscal policy incentives effective in stimulating firms' eco‐product innovation? The moderating role of dynamic capabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3095-3104, November.
    12. Steven D. Baker & Burton Hollifield & Emilio Osambela, 2022. "Asset Prices and Portfolios with Externalities [Pricedetermination in the EU ETS market: theory and econometric analysis with market fundamentals]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1433-1468.
    13. Zhang, Lixia & Sun, Huaping & Pu, Tianlong & Sun, Hui & Chen, Zhenling, 2024. "Do green finance and hi-tech innovation facilitate sustainable development? Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1430-1442.
    14. Lars Hornuf & Gül Yüksel, 2022. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9724, CESifo.
    15. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    16. Zou, Jin & Yan, Jingzhou & Deng, Guoying, 2023. "ESG rating confusion and bond spreads," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    17. Inderst, Roman & Opp, Marcus M., 2025. "Sustainable finance versus environmental policy: Does greenwashing justify a taxonomy for sustainable investments?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    18. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2022. "Dissecting green returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 403-424.
    19. Campiglio, Emanuele & Spiganti, Alessandro & Wiskich, Anthony, 2024. "Clean innovation, heterogeneous financing costs, and the optimal climate policy mix," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    20. Emanuele Campiglio & Alessandro Spiganti & Anthony Wiskich, 2023. "Clean innovation and heterogeneous financing costs," Working Papers 2023: 07, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6273-:d:1440635. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.