The Impact of Green Credit Policy on Technological Innovation of Firms in Pollution-Intensive Industries: Evidence from China

Shixian Ling, Guosheng Han, Dong An, William Cannon Hunter and Hui Li
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Shixian Ling: Business School, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China
Guosheng Han: Business School, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China
Dong An: College of Business Administration, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
William Cannon Hunter: Department of Convention Management, College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
Hui Li: School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai 264209, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: How to promote technological innovation with green finance policy has been a focal topic in the global green finance field in recent years. Using the difference-in-difference approach model, this paper investigated the impact of the Green Credit Guidance (GCG) policy implemented by the Chinese government in 2012 on the technological innovation of firms in pollution-intensive industries. The empirical results indicated that GCG had a negative impact, not only on research and development (R&D) input, but also on innovation output, and the impacts on firms with different property rights and different scales were consistent. Further research showed that GCG reduced the long-term debt of firms in pollution-intensive industries, and then significantly decreased the R&D input and innovation output; that is, long-term debt is a mediator in GCG and technology innovation. The results revealed that GCG fails to promote the technological innovation of firms in pollution-intensive industries. This paper suggests that China’s green credit policy should pay more attention to the technological innovation, transformation, and upgrading of firms in pollution-intensive industries.

Keywords: green credit policy; firms in pollution-intensive industries; research and development input; technological innovation; long term debt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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