ESG ratings are closely linked to corporate resource allocation and overarching macroeconomic constituents. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable lack in the literature investigating the interconnected relationship between the growth of local government debt, corporate underinvestment, and ESG ratings. This study aims to investigate the impact of local government debt on corporate underinvestment and its subsequent effects on corporate ESG performance. To achieve this goal, this study utilizes special bond data from Chinese provinces spanning the period between 2015 and 2021. The findings suggest that as local government debt swells, it imposes financing constraints on local companies, leading to underinvestment, particularly for listed companies with a high proportion of fixed assets and non-state-owned enterprises. A key effect is a “crowding-out effect” in which local government debt absorbs resources that could otherwise be allocated to private corporations and non-investment sectors. This trend illuminates the concealed costs of a debt-reliant growth model extending beyond the financial sector to impact broader corporate behavior and ESG performance. Our research suggests that government debt, corporate financing constraints, and ESG investment are intimately linked. The study concludes with policy implications and recommendations aimed at mitigating the investment gap in Chinese enterprises and promoting sustainable economic growth.

In recent years, the global economy has become more closely related among countries, and people’s pursuit of economic growth has caused the destruction of the environment. This paper selected panel data from 30 provinces in China from 1997 to 2020 to investigate the dynamic relationship between trade liberalization, financial development and carbon dioxide emissions by constructing a PVAR model. We also consider technology as an important variable for studying the effect on carbon dioxide emissions. We draw the following conclusions. First, financial development promotes carbon dioxide emissions, while trade liberalization has no significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions. Second, China’s trade liberalization promotes financial development, which has limited support for international trade. Third, there is a two-way causal relationship between financial development and carbon dioxide emissions, and there is also a two-way causal relationship between trade liberalization and financial development. Finally, there is a significant inverted “U” curve relationship between trade liberalization and innovation efficiency, environmental regulation and innovation. According to the results, we believe that openness to trade impacts emissions of carbon dioxide, opening a new function path: namely, trade openness and financial development result in high carbon dioxide emissions; consequently, China has relied on this process in the development of their financial system.

The data of new urban investment bonds in cities from 2011 to 2021 to represent the growth of local government debt is used in this article. This paper studies the relationship between the increase of local government debt and the underinvestment of A-share listed enterprises, which are nonfinancial companies in China. The research finds that the increase in local government debt will crowd out the debt financing of enterprises and then significantly the degree of underinvestment of enterprises, which is represented non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises with high financing constraints, and enterprises with nonlocal debt invested in the industry. As for listed enterprises with relatively low fixed assets, the increase in local debt will further lead to the degree of underinvestment. The above conclusions remain unchanged after a series of robustness tests in this paper. Further research shows that the increase in local government debt will weaken the stimulus effect of loose monetary policy and thus affect the underinvestment of enterprises. This paper expands the research on the factors affecting the underinvestment of enterprises and deepens the research on the consequences of the influence of local government debt on the economic activities of microsubjects.