The Effect Of Environmental Information Disclosure On The Efficiency Of Heavily Polluting Corporate Capital Allocation

As an important scarce resource in the process of expanding the reproduction of enterprises,the effective allocation of capital is a key driver of enterprises’ sustainable development.However,the previous crude development model has caused great waste of resources and a series of environmental problems.It also led to the inefficient allocation of enterprises’ internal capital.In the macro vision of promoting the construction of an ecological civilization system and achieving high-quality economic development in China,seeking effective ways to simultaneously improve the environmental performance and capital allocation efficiency of enterprises is an important reference for achieving a "win-win" situation for both economic development and environmental protection.As an effective way to stimulate the participation of multiple market players in environmental management,environmental information disclosure has received widespread attention from the public and the government,but whether this way can promote the capital allocation efficiency of enterprises remains to be explored.Therefore,based on the data of heavily polluting enterprises in Chinese A-shares from 2013 to 2020,this paper analyzes the impact of environmental information disclosure on the capital allocation efficiency of enterprises and explores its mechanism by econometric models.Furthermore,this paper also analyzes the differential impact of environmental information disclosure on the capital allocation efficiency of enterprises through many perspectives such as enterprises’ size and ownership.It is found that:(1)Environmental information disclosure significantly and robustly enhances the capital allocation efficiency of enterprises;(2)Environmental information disclosure has a significant promoting effect on the capital allocation efficiency among small and mediumsized enterprises,non-state-owned enterprises,growth stage enterprises,and enterprises in the east and central regions,but this phenomenon is not found in large-scale enterprises,stateowned enterprises,mature and declining stage enterprises,and enterprises in the west and northeast regions;(3)Environmental information disclosure can alleviate the financing constraints that firms suffer and thus enhance their capital allocation efficiency;(4)There is a negative moderating effect of stakeholders such as employees,shareholders,and creditors in the effect of environmental information disclosure on enterprises’ capital allocation efficiency.Based on existing studies,this paper further focuses on the economic effects of environmental information disclosure and enriches the research related to the efficiency of capital allocation of enterprises.Furthermore,this paper also provides an important reference for achieving a "win-win" situation for economic growth and environmental protection.