Research On The Impact Of Low Carbon City Pilot Policy On Enterprise Value

In recent years,China’s rapid economic development,energy consumption has continued to grow and carbon footprints have been rising.Since 2010,the Chinese government has implemented programs related to the construction of low-carbon cities in three batches to coordinate the economic development of cities and the green conversion of their businesses.A low-carbon economy is inextricably linked to the energy saving and emission reduction of enterprises,which will inevitably affect their daily business activities and hence their value.However,most studies have focused on the macro-level effects of low-carbon city pilot policies on the city level,and few scholars have focused on the micro-level effects of low-carbon city construction on enterprise value.Consequently,there is significant intellectual as well as specialized merit for examining the role of low carcinogenic city pilot policies on business value.Based on the data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from2007 to 2021,this paper investigates the impact of low-carbon city pilot policies on firm value using a multi-period double difference method as a "quasi-natural experiment" for cities to promote low-carbon transition.To improve the reliability of the findings,a series of placebo and robustness tests were conducted.The findings show that,first,low-carbon city pilot policies can significantly increase firm value.Second,the degree of marketization has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship,and the contribution of low-carbon city pilot policies to firm value is more pronounced in regions with a high degree of marketization.Further analysis reveals that low-carbon city pilot policies can promote enterprise value through three channels,including increasing enterprise R&D investment,accelerating enterprise digital transformation and easing enterprise internal financing constraints;furthermore,there are significant differences in the promotion effect of developing low-carbon pilot policies on enterprise value after distinguishing the nature of enterprises,the nature of industries,the regions they are located in,the level of urban innovation and natural resource endowment.This paper reveals the structure of the impact of low-carbon city pilot policies on enterprise value,and provides conceptual support and pragmatic proof for management to further introduce low-carbon pilot policies,extend low-carbon development ideas in the background of "double carbon",and to speed up low-carbon restructuring and green production for corporations.