Using a continuous difference-in-differences (DID) model, this study examines the influence of environmental regulations on corporate green innovation. By analyzing a panel dataset of Chinese publicly listed companies spanning from 2010 to 2020, this study finds that stricter total energy consumption target (TECT) policies, in line with Porter’s hypothesis, have encouraged companies to increase their development of green inventions. Additionally, the study reveals that the positive relationship between TECT policies and corporate green innovation is strengthened by market competition and institutional development. Furthermore, the study finds that the Porter effect primarily affects firms operating in pollution-intensive industries within regions characterized by high energy consumption. This suggests that the TECT policies have effectively directed regions with high energy consumption to prioritize energy control objectives over economic expansion goals. These results emphasize the importance of formulating environmental policies that are tailored to the specific characteristics of different regions, sectors, and individual firms. By doing so, a more effective and targeted approach to sustainable transformation can be achieved.

Using an unbalanced panel of 922 non-financial companies publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange during January 1995 and September 2014, this article tests the predictions of Pecking Order Theory (POT), Trade-off Theory (TOT) and Market Timing Theory (MTT) of capital structure through the lens of macroeconomic conditions. We find strong evidence that leverage is negatively associated with the business cycle but positively related to stock market performance, which is consistent with POT. In addition, leverage is negatively related to financial market risk, as predicted by TOT. Furthermore, leverage is positively related to credit supply, which is in line with both the POT and TOT. Finally, there is no evidence in support of MTT. The above results are robust with respect to the measurement of macroeconomic variables, the choice of estimation methods and the inclusion of a dummy variable to account for the effect of the 2008 financial crisis. An important implication is that, because firms tend to be highly levered during business cycle downturns, expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to encourage more business borrowings may not be effective after all.

This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the governance effect of tax administration digitization on corporate tax avoidance. Using data from 2,032 firms publicly listed in China during 2010 and 2020, our paper is among the first to report that the development of digital technologies such as big data and cloud computing has a restraining effect on corporate tax avoidance behavior. Our study is based on the Golden Tax III project implemented by the Chinese government from 2013 to 2016 as a quasi-natural experiment. Our time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model shows that the digitization of tax collection and management effectively reduces corporate tax avoidance behavior. Moreover, this impact is larger for private firms, firms in regions with low financial development, firms with low auditor quality, and firms with low internal control quality. Our results are robust to parallel trend tests, placebo tests for causal inference, alternative measures of tax avoidance, and other tax-related policy specifications. Our findings suggest that governments should continue to promote digitization of tax administration, create a fair business environment for the development of private enterprises, deepen market-oriented reform in regions with low financial development, and improve the internal control mechanisms of publicly listed firms. JEL Classification: H26; H32; G30

Qualified Securities for Short-sale Refinancing (QSSR) is a unique trading mechanism that has exogenously increased the supply of loanable securities in Chinese stock markets. Using difference-in-differences (DID) methodology, this paper is the first to investigate whether and to what extent additions to the QSSR eligibility list affect short selling activities and stock price behaviors. The paper finds that stocks added to the QSSR list exhibit better liquidity and less negative skewness in returns than non-QSSR stocks. However, QSSR stocks are more volatile and display a higher frequency of extreme negative returns. In addition, on average, QSSR stocks experience larger negative abnormal returns (ARs) and cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) relative to non-QSSR stocks, and the difference in CARs is positively related to investor heterogeneity. The results indicate that short selling has mixed effects on stock prices. Removing short-sale constraints can improve liquidity and reduce price bubbles, but can also increase return volatility and amplify market crashes.