We evaluate the impact of digital finance on the ESG performance of manufacturing enterprises and whether digital and traditional finance play a complementary or substitute role in promoting the ESG performance. First, we find that developing digital finance can alleviate financing constraints and promote technological innovation, thereby increasing enterprises' investment in environmental, social, and governance, providing sufficient technical support, and improving their ESG performance. Furthermore, digital finance and traditional finance have a direct impact on the ESG performance and further enhance their influence through complementary effects. Therefore, this paper may provide a valuable reference for finance to support manufacturing enterprises' development effectively.

The study indicates that under conditions of financial repression, a enterprise’s ESG performance significantly impacts the extent of its short-term debt used for long-term purposes. The mechanism test reveals that ESG performance mitigates the degree of short-term debt for long-term use through three pathways: enhancing information transparency, alleviating financing constraints, and curbing excessive investment. Further research suggests that the influence of ESG performance on the use of short-term debt for long-term purposes is more pronounced among private enterprises, high-pollution and high-energy-consuming enterprises, and enterprises in underdeveloped regions. This paper enriches the research on the relationship between ESG performance and corporate financing decisions.

This paper investigates whether Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance influences the stock idiosyncratic risk and extreme risk. We find that the ESG performance of listed companies significantly reduces the stock idiosyncratic risk and extreme risk. Furthermore, we identify that this mitigating effect is shaped by the nature of enterprise ownership and the firm life cycle. Through additional mechanistic analysis, we confirm that ESG performance affects the stock price volatility risk of listed companies by reducing levels of corporate earnings management and bolstering corporate reputation, thereby alleviating both idiosyncratic risk and extreme risk in stock prices.

气候信息披露对于实现“双碳”目标，促进供应链可持续发展至关重要。本文通过合并中国上市公司和海关数据，基于各国强制性ESG披露政策的自然实验，考察其对中国出口供应商企业气候信息披露的影响。研究发现，出口目的国强制性ESG披露政策对中国出口供应商企业气候信息披露具有增进效应，供应商企业的主动模仿和客户倒逼是重要的实现机制。异质性检验发现，当中国出口供应商为污染型企业、面临较高的外部环境关注度，及目的国强制性ESG披露政策执行更为严格时，政策效果更为显著。进一步分析发现，中国出口供应商企业气候信息披露的完善不仅有助于增加企业对实行强制性ESG披露政策国家的出口，而且能够提升供应商企业未来的经营绩效。本文丰富了气候信息披露影响因素与实现机制的研究，增强了对强制性ESG披露政策的理解，对构建可持续供应链和提升企业国际竞争力具有重要启示。

2019年，国家发布《绿色产业指导目录》，首次明确绿色产业范围和技术标准，旨在为包括绿色金融体系在内经济社会绿色转型中一系列制度安排的重点支持方向提供技术上的参考目录，提高资源配置效率。本文以《目录》提供的技术文本为基础、运用前沿的大语言模型，构建了全新的基于专业技术角度的企业绿色技术指标，避免了传统企业环境效益评价指标（如ESG指标）存在的覆盖不足和漂绿高估问题。以该指标为基础，本文运用双重差分法考察《目录》对企业创新能力、投资行为及经营绩效的影响。实证结果表明，《目录》的颁布鼓励企业加大了研发投入、增加了绿色支出，提升了绿色企业的创新能力，尤其促进了企业的高质量创新产出。进一步地融资机制探索表明，明确绿色标准显著降低了相关企业的融资成本，尤其对企业信贷融资渠道的影响更为显著。最后，本文通过经济意义分析发现，《目录》提高了企业的经营绩效和节能减排。本文的研究结论为进一步健全绿色金融机制、实现绿色可持续发展提供了有益参考。

This paper proposes the concepts of ESG information flows and a predictable framework of ESG flows based on AR process, and studies how ESG information flows are incorporated into and affect a dynamic portfolio with transaction costs. Two methods, called the ESG factor model and the ESG preference model, are considered to embed ESG information flows into a dynamic mean-variance model. The dynamic optimal portfolio can be expressed as a traditional optimal portfolio without ESG information and a dynamic ESG preference portfolio, and the impact of ESG information on optimal trading is explicitly analyzed. The rich numerical results show that ESG information can improve the out-of-sample performance, and ESG preference portfolio has the best out-of-sample performance including the net returns, Sharpe ratio and cumulative return of portfolios, and contribute to reducing risk and transaction costs. Our dynamic trading strategy provides valuable insights for sustainable investment both in theory and practice.

摘 要：本文基于利益相关者理论、信号传递理论和委托代理理论分析了企业 ESG 表现对绿色创新绩效可能的影响及其机制，并以 2009—2021 年中国 A 股上市公司为样本，实证分析了企业 ESG 表现的绿色创新效应。从机制分析发现，ESG 表现主要通过缓解融资约束、提高人力资本水平促进企业绿色创新绩效。从拓展性研究发现，ESG 表现的三个子维度都有助于提升绿色创新绩效，且公司治理表现的提升效应最强；ESG 表现不仅提高企业策略性绿色创新绩效、独立绿色创新绩效，还可提升实质性绿色创新绩效、合作绿色创新绩效。

本文基于2010—2022年中国上市公司面板数据，以“国家大数据综合试验区”的设立作为准自然实验，从数字经济的视角，探讨大数据试验区的设立与企业ESG绩效的关系。研究发现，大数据试验区的设立显著提升了企业的ESG绩效，激发了企业的数字化转型动力，尤其是对企业的环境治理（E）和社会治理（S）维度的提升效果更为显著，体现了数字化政策在中国数字经济发展过程中对于企业规范约束的作用。第二，机制研究表明大数据试验区的设立使明显促进了当地企业的数字化程度，此外，区位导向性政策可以有效规范约束企业数字化转型，从而促进企业ESG绩效的提升。第三，大数据试验区能够更好地促进东部地区、资本和技术密集型企业以及非高新技术企业，并未实现均衡发展，仍存在区域和企业间差异。本文结论不仅有助于深化理解以大数据试验区为代表的数字产业政策对企业发展的作用效果，也为地方政府依托大数据试验区，抢抓数字经济发展的新机遇，深度挖掘数据要素价值，提供了有力的政策支持。

立足于当前民营企业“反向混改”积极推进和 ESG 实践蓬勃发展的大背景,文章以2010—2020 年存在国有资本参股的 A 股民营上市公司为样本,检验国有股东委派董事对民营企业善待员工的影响、机制及边界条件。结果发现,国有股东委派董事显著提升了民营企业的员工责任分数,有利于民营企业善待员工。机制分析表明,国有股东委派董事通过提供资源支持和增加社会关注促进民营企业履行善待员工的社会责任。异质性分析表明,上述结果在管理层短视程度较高、行业集中度较高以及劳动密集度较低的样本中更加显著。进一步考虑国有股东的异质性特征发现,当国有股东为战略型投资者以及与民营企业位于同一注册地时,其委派董事对民营企业善待员工的促进作用更加显著。文章从董事会层面混合治理的视角厘清了国资参股促进民营企业善待员工的机制和作用条件,为民营企业通过制度设计实现“高质量”混合以及借助“反向混改”的契机改善ESG 实践提供了一定的启示。

This paper investigates the effect of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the ESG performance of their underlying firms. Using data from China, we find that ETFs enhance the ESG performance of their underlying firms. This finding remains consistent after several robustness and endogeneity tests. Further, we show that the effect is more pronounced for non-SOEs, firms in low-polluting industries, and firms at growth and maturity stages. Studying the mechanisms behind these results, we find that ETFs mitigate the corporate agency problems, enhance the willingness of managers to invest in ESG, and improve the ESG performance.