Corporate sustainability policies and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from the quasi-natural experiment in China
利用中国2012年实施环境空气质量标准的政策实验，研究发现加强绿色信息披露要求能显著提升企业投资效率，主要通过缓解代理问题和降低融资约束实现，对非国有企业和机构持股比例低的企业效果更明显。
This paper studies the impact of green disclosure on firm investment efficiency, leveraging a policy experiment in China. Since 2012, the Chinese government has begun to implement the Ambient Air Quality Standards (AQS), which have strengthened the requirements for green disclosure throughout the country. We exploit the rollout of the AQS and find that tightening the green disclosure requirements significantly increases corporate investment efficiency. This increase is primarily driven by a reduction in underinvestment among non-state-owned firms and firms with low institutional ownership. Further analysis suggests that the alleviation of agency problems and the reduction of financial constraints are the two main mechanisms through which green disclosure influences firm investment efficiency. Our findings provide valuable policy implications, indicating that strengthening green disclosure standards can have a substantial positive impact on firm investment outcomes.