When human civilization is thriving to the rapid economic and social development, the deteriorating ecological environment has also pressured the society to put environmental protection issues on the agenda future development. Therefore, green innovation is not merely a requirement for a corporate’s long-term development but the basics of sustainable development of human society. As an objective indicator to measure a company's commitment to social responsibility, corporate environmental responsibility has an extremely important impact on a corporate's business philosophy and innovation strategy. However, the existing literature rarely studies between these two variables. This paper collects the data of listed companies from 2010 to 2019 and empirically tests the impact of corporate environmental responsibility on corporate green innovation. The study finds that corporate environmental responsibility can promote green innovation by reducing financing constraints, improving corporate governance and increasing government subsidies and R&D investment, and the result is still significant under a series of robustness checks. The placebo test suggests that the Jiangsu enterprise responsibility construction pilot has facilitated the development of enterprises' green innovation to a great extent. The conclusions enrich existing literature on corporate environmental responsibility and corporate green innovation, providing implications for government policy orientation, social atmosphere guidance and corporate strategic decision-making process.

Green innovation, driven by China's new development concept, plays a crucial role in high-quality economic development. In line with the green development trend, businesses increasingly prioritize whether their corporate environmental responsibilities (CER) can effectively enhance corporate green innovation (CGI) levels. This paper examines the influence and mechanism of CER on CGI using a dynamic perspective, drawing from 1,640 manually-collected panel data of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2017. The primary findings indicate that the impact of CER on CGI possesses phase-specific characteristics and a dual effect of "crowding in" and "crowding out." The current phase of CER negatively affects green innovation, while the lag phase has a positive effect. CER's impact on various CGI types is heterogeneous: specifically, it follows an "inverted-N" trajectory (inhibition-promotion-inhibition) for "strategic green innovation" and has a promotional effect on "substantive green innovation," which is stronger and has a longer time lag. The mechanism analysis reveals that financing constraints play a critical mediating role. A heterogeneity analysis based on multiple dimensions (ownership, industry, and location) suggests that CER has a more significant driving force for CGI among state-owned firms, high-polluting industries, and enterprises in inland areas. Finally, the paper presents corresponding suggestions for government and corporate entities.

This paper empirically investigates the relation between firm performance in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the need and likelihood of external financing to test the predictions of agency and stakeholder theories. Empirical results from Logit, Linear Probability Model, OLS and Firm fixed effects regressions indicate that CSR is negatively related to the likelihood and level of external financing. Further analysis indicates that CSR has a negative and significant effect on both net equity issued (NEI) and net debt issued (NDI), the two components of external financing. Overall, the empirical results support the predictions of agency theory.

This study delves into the complex relationship between China's international trade and economic growth, specifically focusing on emission intensity and its environmental ramifications within the context of energy efficiency. The primary objective is to provide a comprehensive understanding of how China's international trade dynamics influence economic growth, emphasizing emission intensity and employing a model that considers the nonlinear impact of trade on output. Through this model, structural breakpoints are identified, revealing distinct outcomes for China amidst positive and negative shocks from 1972 to 2021. The study uncovers the dual nature of the energy sector, acting both as a source of environmental degradation and a potential avenue for positive change through increased efficiency. Complex interplays among economic activities, inflation, and investment on carbon intensity are revealed. Additionally, the varying effects of export volume on carbon emissions intensity across lag thresholds underscore the significance of global trade dynamics for environmental sustainability. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of balancing economic prosperity with environmental responsibility, advocating for carefully balanced policies that foster sustainable growth. Recommendations include considering the dual nature of the energy sector and implementing policies promoting increased efficiency. Policymakers are urged to adopt growth models prioritizing environmental responsibility, balancing economic activities, inflation, and investment to mitigate carbon intensity while acknowledging the diverse effects of global trade dynamics on environmental sustainability.

Green innovation, as a sustainable development approach, can synergistically promote high-quality economic and social development. We select China's A-share-listed manufacturing corporations from 2011 to 2021 as the research sample to empirically study the impact of executive academic experience on green innovation in manufacturing corporations. Further, we test the relationship between executive academic experience and green innovation in manufacturing corporations under the mediating role of corporate social responsibility and the moderating role of heterogeneous environmental regulations. The study shows that (1) executive academic experience helps to promote green innovation in manufacturing corporations; (2) executive academic experience is conducive to promoting the fulfillment of social responsibility by manufacturing corporations; (3) corporate social responsibility plays a mediating role between executive academic experience and green innovation in manufacturing corporations; (4) environmental regulation positively moderates the relationship between executive academic experience and green innovation in manufacturing corporations, and both formal environmental regulation and informal environmental regulation positively moderated the promotion of green innovation in manufacturing corporations by executive academic experience.

The Public Welfare Foundation of a listed company is a non-profit organization with independent legal personality. It is established and funded by a listed company. The purpose of establishing a foundation for a listed company is generally to carry out charitable activities and make important contributions to charitable causes. However, due to the special power separation model, the autonomy of the foundation is poor, and there may be serious agency conflicts, ultimately leading to listed companies becoming beneficiaries of the foundation's charitable activities. We have found from the perspectives of commercial credit, sales, and cooperative relationships that social responsibility initiating organizations (listed companies) can obtain potential benefits from social responsibility fulfilling organizations (listed company public welfare foundations) in supply chain commercial relationships, that is, listed companies that establish public welfare foundations have good supply chain commercial relationships. When a listed company and a public welfare foundation have a close relationship in terms of fund donation, decision-making, business, and naming, the public welfare foundation has a strategic preference in selecting project names, project service areas, project beneficiaries, and project service areas. It prioritizes the interests of the listed company, enabling the listed company to obtain better supply chain business relationships.

This study empirically examines the effect of corporate governance on the relation between CEO power and firm leverage. Results from OLS and industry fixed effects regressions show that CEO power is positively associated with firm leverage. However, this association is driven by the strength of corporate governance as powerful CEOs tend to choose higher levels of debt only when corporate governance is strong. When corporate governance is weak, CEO power does not seem to have any effect on firm leverage. Overall, results indicate that strong corporate governance mitigates the severity of manager-shareholder conflicts and induces powerful CEOs to choose higher leverage.

As the underlying institutional design for enterprise risk management, it is important to study whether and how internal control affects enterprise technological innovation in the current context of increased economic policy uncertainty. Based on the principal-agent theory and information asymmetry theory, this paper explores the impact of internal control on corporate technological innovation using the listed company data from 2009-2019 CSMAR database, and obtains the following research conclusions: (1) the quality of internal control positively affects the corporate technological innovation. (2) The operational risk plays an intermediary role in the relationship between the internal control affecting the corporate technological innovation. (3) The degree of market competition positively moderates the impact of internal control on enterprise technological innovation. (4) Relative to non-stateowned enterprises and non-high-tech enterprises, the quality of internal control of state-owned enterprises and high-tech enterprises has a more significant impact on enterprise technological innovation. This paper enriches the consequences of the study of internal control on the one hand, and on the other hand, it provides a new perspective for improving technological innovation, and it provides certain guidance for further improving the level of corporate governance.

A differences-in-differences (DID) model and financial data from Chinese listed firms from 2011 to 2019 are used to empirically investigate the effects of the digital economy on corporate financial asset holdings using the "Broadband China" policy as a quasi-natural experiment. After robustness testing and heterogeneity effects are disposed of, the digital economy dramatically boosts corporate financial asset holdings. According to the channel analysis, the digital economy can reduce corporate financing constraints and boost corporate financial asset holdings, notably based on speculative demand. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the digital economy has a greater impact on corporate financial asset holdings for firms with higher market competition, small-scale firms with a short-listed age, and firms in the western region. This paper provides policy guidance for enterprises returning to the real economy.

The implementation of environmental protection strategy necessarily requires mapping the amount of capital stock of environmental infrastructure. Through the Weibull distribution function and hyperbolic age-decreasing efficiency model, the provincial environmental infrastructure capital stock in China from 1980 to 2018 is measured cautiously, and its spatial dynamics with the generated pollutants is analyzed using the center of gravity method. It is found that: the spatial distribution of environmental infrastructure capital stock is uneven, and the unevenness in the east-west direction is greater than that in the north-south direction, but the unevenness in the east-west direction is narrowing while the north-south direction is widening; the spatial and temporal distribution of environmental infrastructure capital and environmental pollution vary greatly, and the spatial management of environmental pollution is less accurate.

Environmental degradation is becoming a fundamental issue as it is directly associated with human lives and environmental sustainability. This research particularly highlights the significance of green transportation taxes in achieving environmental sustainability due to limited available literature considering the environmental sustainability and green transportation taxes nexus. By employing the newly developed QARDL approach, this study is unfolding the linkages of green transportation taxes on transport-based CO2 emissions for Chinese economy spanning 1992 to 2020. The results infer that green transportation taxes to enhance environmental sustainability in the long-run for the highest quantiles, i.e., 0.70 to 0.95. Though, green transportation taxes enhance environmental sustainability in all quantiles in the short-run. Based on these results, the study suggests that the Chinese government and policymakers should increase green transportation taxes that help in combating CO2 emissions, which ultimately enhances environmental sustainability.

Giving full play to the interaction of multi-dimensional environmental regulation is an important method to accelerate the green transformation of manufacturing enterprises which is a significant way to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Based on the theory of evolution game, a green transformation strategy evolution game model participated by the government, consumers, and manufacturing enterprises has been constructed. Stability research is conducted based on the behavioral mode of the three parties participating subjects and the paper uses MATLAB for numerical simulation to analyze the impact of environmental regulations of different dimensions on the green transformation of enterprises. The research shows that: (1) When the government adopts a single environmental regulation of carbon emission right transaction or green consumption subsidy, it will not affect the choice of green transformation strategies of the enterprise. (2) When the government adopts a single environmental regulation of environmental protection tax, it only promotes enterprises to choose green transformation strategies under limited conditions. (3) Under the multi-dimensional environmental regulations of the government, by affecting the cost and income of enterprise green technology innovation, consumers’ green consumption behavior, and the manufacturing enterprises choose green transformation as a stable strategy. Therefore, the government should give full play to the role of multi-dimensional environmental regulations in promoting consumers' green consumption and enterprises’ green technology innovation to accelerate the green transformation of manufacturing enterprises.

The digital transformation provides an opportunity for the development of a green and low-carbon economy. This study used panel data collected from 30 Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2018, and assessed the impact of digitization (Dig) on environmental efficiency (EE). Quantile regression is employed to scrutinize the evolution of the marginal effect. From the perspectives of population and institutional factors, this study empirically investigates nonlinear relationships and potential mechanisms using Hansen threshold and mediation models. The findings reveal several key insights. Overall, levels of digitization and environmental efficiency (EE) are increasing with regional dispersion expansion, indicating a “polarization” characteristic. The impact of digitization on EE exhibits noticeable stage and regional heterogeneity. Analysis of population factors reveals that population structure, population size, and human capital trigger a sharp “marginal increase” of positive effects with single thresholds of 0.8155, 7.2284, and 11.0497, respectively. Analysis of institutional factors highlights the significance of fiscal policy quality (tax proportion), education expenditure, and tax system structure as important intermediaries. Finally, this paper presents corresponding policy implications.

This study delves into the intricate interconnections among the financial sector, macroeconomic dynamics, and the advancement of sustainable energy production in South Asia. Utilizing data from 1987 to 2022 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the research employs the Structural Vector Autoregressive (SVAR) method to analyze financial market responses. The findings reveal nuanced insights into the complex relationship between economic and environmental factors, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the region's intricate nexus between financial markets and sustainable energy initiatives. In the Economic Growth model, the negative coefficient for CO2 emissions underscores environmental concerns, indicating an inverse relationship with economic growth. Conversely, positive coefficients for non-fossil energy production, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, stock exchange value, and domestic credit emphasize their positive impact on economic growth. A positive GDP coefficient in the CO2 emission model signifies heightened carbon emissions with economic growth, while a negative coefficient for non-fossil energy production suggests potential environmental benefits. The nearly unitary positive coefficient for Gross Fixed Capital Formation highlights its significant role in driving carbon emissions. The Non-Fossil Energy Production model reveals an inverse relationship between GDP and clean energy, suggesting a potential reliance on fossil fuels during economic growth. Positive coefficients for CO2 emissions, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, stock exchange value, and domestic credit highlight factors influencing non-fossil energy production. Long-run stable coefficients affirm variable significance, while a negative error correction term suggests convergence in developing countries. These models offer nuanced insights into the intricate relationships among economic, environmental, and energy variables, guiding sustainable development policies in South Asia.

The present paper empirically examines the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, which posits an inverted U-shaped relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth, in Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Turkey for the period 1970-2020. The EKC validity is highly debated due to varying results across countries. This study is significant to addresses this controversy by estimating the EKC's robustness while considering the influence of financial development, globalization, and government expenditure. We employ two cointegration techniques, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM), also considering potential structural breaks in the data. Out key findings indicate that the EKC hypothesis is supported in India, Pakistan, and Turkey, with carbon emissions eventually declining after reaching a peak. The hypothesis is not supported in Egypt and Thailand, where emissions rise monotonically with economic growth. In Mexico, the results are mixed, with ARDL suggesting a U-shaped relationship and VECM supporting the EKC. From our empirical analysis of the EKC hypothesis, we derive the following policy implications: 1) countries should adopt comprehensive policy strategies that integrate these goals and fully consider the long-term environmental and societal impacts of their decisions; 2) countries should invest heavily in research and development to accelerate the creation of new technologies that can effectively reduce carbon emissions; and 3) countries must actively raise awareness about the environmental repercussions of economic growth.

With the development of information technology and its application in environmental governance, the role of the internet in improving energy efficiency and reducing energy-saving potential (ESP) has attracted more attention. In this study, the slack-based model (SBM) and the unexpected model, along with the entropy method, were applied to measure China's energy-saving potential and internet development. Further, we empirically analyzed the direct effect, mediating effect, threshold effect, and regional heterogeneity of the internet on ESP. Our conclusion shows that there is a significant spatial correlation between internet penetration and ESP. Internet penetration has become an important tool for reducing ESP, but this effect shows regional heterogeneity. Human capital accumulation, financial development, and industrial upgrading are important influencing mechanisms, but indirect effects are weaker than direct effects. The impact of internet penetration on ESP is non-linear, and for improving human capital accumulation, financial development, and industrial upgrading, the role of internet popularization in energy conservation is more obvious.

We examine the impact of environmental provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs) on the environmentally harmful exports. Results show that environmental clauses in RTAs help reduce “dirty” exports, whereas RTA depth promotes exports. The exporting country may divert its polluting exports to its trading partner if it faces more environmental provisions with other countries.

The sensitive nature of interest rate has spurred empirical interests on the factors that determine it. This paper examined the joint impact of exchange rate and foreign direct investment inflows on interest rate in Nigeria over the period from 1981-2022. The study made use of the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test and results of findings reveal that in both the short-run and the long-run the impact of the interaction between FDI inflows and exchange rate on real interest rate was negative and significant. Also, while credit to the private sector was found to have significant positive impact on real interest rate in both the time horizons, the impact of consumer price index was negative only in the short. Oil revenue was found to impact positively on real interest rate only in the long-run, but the impact of broad money supply was negative and significant in both the short-run and the long-run. The study suggests that policies to regulate domestic interest rate should focus on joint regulation of both exchange rate and FDI inflows and this requires a synergy between monetary and fiscal policies.

Green credit policy (GCP) relies on financial means to promote environmental governance. Whether it can achieve the goals of economic development and environmental protection, especially in the context of different institutional supplies, remains to be scientifically tested. Based on the implementation of China’s Green Credit Guidelines in 2012, this study uses panel data of Chinese companies from 2009 to 2019 to explore the influence of GCP on green technology innovation and the role of institutional supply in it. The results show that GCP is instrumental in promoting green innovation in heavily polluting enterprises, and the promotion effect is heterogeneous based on green patent types, firms’ ownership, and regional financial development levels. Further analysis finds that the supply of environmental protection systems by local governments can strengthen the green innovation effect of GCP. However, the institutional supply of innovation has not yet released a promotional effect. This paper finds that green credit can be used as an environmental governance tool and provides inspiration for local governments to issue environmental protection policies scientifically.

Based on China's 30 provincial panel data from 2006 to 2018, this paper uses the spatial Durbin model to empirically study the influence path and transmission mechanism of financial development on regional technological innovation, and introduce digital finance environment, marketization degree, and government environmental management as an adjustment variable to verify its regulating effect on financial development and regional technological innovation. The study found that the overall promotion of digital finance to local technological innovation is not significant. Besides, the characteristics of ownership discrimination and weak risk appetite in the bank's medium and long-term credit market have led to its failure to promote regional technological innovation. In contrast, the stock market and bond market in direct financing channels have enhanced local innovation capabilities. When the external environmental system is used as the adjustment variable, the results show that an excellent digital finance development, marketization degree, and government environmental management can effectively and positively regulate the effect of financial development and technological innovation.