School of Economics, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, 250014, China.
School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Oct 15;344:118578. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118578. Epub 2023 Jul 14.
Environmental taxation is an essential tool employed by governments to compel polluting enterprises to undergo green transformation, thereby achieving sustainable development. This paper uses Differences-in-Differences (DID) approach to assess the impact of the China's environmental tax law on the ESG performance of heavily polluting industries. Furthermore, it examines the moderating effect of stakeholder behavior on the relationship between the environmental tax law and the ESG performance of firms. The research findings indicate that the environmental tax law significantly enhances the ESG performance of heavy polluting enterprises by improving the environmental factor. However, heterogeneity is observed based on ownership characteristics and regional variations. Auditors, mass media and corporate ethical behavior exhibit a significant positive moderating effect on the causal relationship between the environmental tax law and the ESG performance of heavily polluting enterprises. This study contributes to a clearer understanding of the intrinsic relationship between environmental tax laws and ESG performance, and offers insights from the perspective of stakeholder behavior for formulating a path towards sustainable development in the country, thereby providing policy lessons for numerous developing countries worldwide.
环境税收是政府用来迫使污染企业进行绿色转型，从而实现可持续发展的重要工具。本文采用双重差分法（DID）评估中国环境税法对重污染行业 ESG 绩效的影响。此外，还检验了利益相关者行为对环境税法与企业 ESG 绩效之间关系的调节作用。研究结果表明，环境税法通过改善环境因素，显著提高了重污染企业的 ESG 绩效。然而，基于所有权特征和区域差异，存在异质性。审计师、大众媒体和企业道德行为对环境税法与重污染企业 ESG 绩效之间的因果关系具有显著的正向调节作用。本研究有助于更清楚地理解环境税法与 ESG 绩效之间的内在关系，并从利益相关者行为的角度为制定可持续发展道路提供了启示，为全球众多发展中国家提供了政策借鉴。
