Assessing the impact of corporate environmental performance on efficiency improvement in labor investment
研究ESG绩效如何影响企业劳动力投资效率，发现良好的ESG表现能通过缓解融资约束和改善信息环境来提升效率，对管理层、监管机构和环保人士有参考价值。
Abstract Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors have become increasingly important to employees and companies alike. It is important to integrate ESG considerations into labor investment decisions. We examine the impact of ESG performance on firms ' labor investment efficiency. Using data from A‐share listed firms from 2015 to 2020, we find that ESG performance improves labor investment efficiency. Such positive effect is robust after using alternative measures for labor investment efficiency and ESG performance, alternative regression specifications, and a bunch of endogeneity tests. The mechanism tests show that a strong ESG record can reduce financial constraints and improve the information environment, thus subsequently boosting the efficiency of labor investment. The findings of the study shed light on efficiency improvement in labor investment for management, regulatory authority, and environmental activists.