How does green finance influence enterprise greenwashing tendencies? Theoretical and empirical evidence from China

IF 9.8 1区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

International Review of Financial Analysis Pub Date : 2025-08-21 DOI:10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104574

Qianxu Liang, Chaonan Wang, Yongping Li

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Abstract

As green finance emerges as a critical institutional mechanism for directing capital toward sustainable development, increased attention has been paid to the authenticity of corporate environmental disclosures. The widespread occurrence of greenwashing not only weakens the effectiveness of policy tools but also distorts the capital market's assessment of firms' environmental performance. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning 2010–2023, this study employs a two-way fixed effects model to systematically examine the impact of green finance development on corporate greenwashing tendencies. The empirical results demonstrate that green finance significantly reduces the likelihood of greenwashing. Mechanism analysis reveals that this effect primarily operates through three channels: lowering green agency costs, alleviating financing constraints, and enhancing managerial awareness of environmental issues. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the inhibitory effect of green finance is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, firms in regions with stricter environmental regulation, and those with greater analyst coverage. Overall, this study provides robust microlevel evidence on the behavioral impact of green finance on firms' practices and offers valuable theoretical and policy implications for designing more effective and targeted green finance frameworks.

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绿色金融如何影响企业漂绿倾向？来自中国的理论和实证证据

随着绿色金融作为引导资本走向可持续发展的关键制度机制的出现，企业环境披露的真实性受到了越来越多的关注。“洗绿”现象的普遍存在，不仅削弱了政策工具的有效性，而且扭曲了资本市场对企业环境绩效的评估。本文采用2010-2023年中国a股上市公司面板数据，采用双向固定效应模型，系统考察了绿色金融发展对企业洗绿倾向的影响。实证结果表明，绿色金融显著降低了洗绿的可能性。机制分析表明，这种效应主要通过降低绿色代理成本、缓解融资约束和增强管理者的环境意识三个渠道发挥作用。异质性分析表明，绿色金融的抑制效应在国有企业、环境监管较严地区的企业和分析师覆盖范围较大的企业中更为明显。总体而言，本研究为绿色金融对企业实践的行为影响提供了强有力的微观证据，并为设计更有效、更有针对性的绿色金融框架提供了有价值的理论和政策启示。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Review of Financial Analysis BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

10.30

自引率

9.80%

发文量

366

期刊介绍： The International Review of Financial Analysis (IRFA) is an impartial refereed journal designed to serve as a platform for high-quality financial research. It welcomes a diverse range of financial research topics and maintains an unbiased selection process. While not limited to U.S.-centric subjects, IRFA, as its title suggests, is open to valuable research contributions from around the world.