Utilizing data from Chinese A-share listed companies, this study investigates the effects of digital transformation (DT) on total factor productivity (TFP) and the moderating function of ESG performance. The results indicate that DT boosts TFP, but ESG performance negatively moderates this effect, revealing the green paradox. A dynamic model of factor allocation efficiency shows that DT improves capital allocation by reducing financing constraints, information asymmetry, and enhancing operational capacity. However, ESG weakens the positive link between DT and operational capacity, thus diminishing its impact on TFP. Similarly, DT increases labor productivity, but ESG undermines this effect by weakening the link between DT and labor efficiency. The positive impact of DT is stronger when firms focus on ‘Practical Application Technologies’ rather than ‘Underlying Technologies’. This effect is especially evident in smaller, asset-intensive, non-state-owned firms, and those located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Additionally, ESG’s negative moderation is more pronounced where DT exerts a stronger positive influence. A notable distinction emerges: asset-intensive firms gain more from DT in terms of TFP, whereas ESG’s adverse effect is stronger in labour-intensive firms. This study offers a novel perspective on the interplay between DT, ESG performance, and productivity. It provides valuable insights for firms seeking to align digital strategies with ESG goals, thereby fostering technological innovation alongside sustainable development.

Efficient enterprise development plays a crucial role in the achievement of economic efficiency, which is reflected in the improvement of total factor productivity (TFP). This study examines the effect of corporate maturity mismatch on TFP and explores whether financialisation influences this relationship. This study uses data from Chinese A-share listed non-financial enterprises from 2007 to 2019. We find that maturity mismatch negatively impacts TFP through performance inhibition, agency costs, and capital allocation efficiency reduction. Additionally, we find that financialisation positively moderates the negative effect of corporate maturity mismatch on TFP, and the effect is more pronounced when a firm has higher risk-bearing capacity and greater governance efficiency. We use two-stage least squares to demonstrate the robustness of our results.

This paper argues that ffnancial lease, a dominant representation of shadow banking in China, plays a special role in improving the capital allocation efficiency. In a two-sector general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firm, information asymmetry and financial frictions, this paper shows that existence of finance lease market increases aggregate TFP by allowing low productivity SOE firms to lend out and allowing high productivity POE firms to leverage up. Due to the repossession advantage, financial leasing is a “good“ form of shadow banking that does not necessarily cause financial systemic risks.

The controlling shareholder of a firm may suffer as a result of its right to control the firm due to unfavorable market reactions associated with concerns on private benefit extraction by the controlling shareholder. Thus, the controlling shareholder has an incentive to build a good governance mechanism as a commitment device in order to discipline itself, which allows it to sell shares at a higher price in the initial public offering (IPO). An improvement in pricing efficiency will give the controlling shareholder more incentive to limit its private benefits from controlling the firm. Therefore, we propose that, besides improving the efficiency of capital allocation, the development of the financial market can shape the corporate governance of firms in an economy, thus improving firm operation efficiency. A model of IPO is constructed to demonstrate this mechanism of market discipline. Using data from China stock market on the regulatory changes in IPO pricing and firm ownership structure, we find evidence consistent with the model’s implications.

This paper assesses the impact of the recent financial reforms in China. Following the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization, financial liberalisation has picked up considerable momentum. Measures introduced encompass deregulation in the banking sector and refinements in various financial markets, as well as allowing more freedom for Chinese and foreign investors to participate and interact domestically and overseas. Compared to other studies on financial liberalisation, this study focuses on a relatively narrower aspect of financial reforms namely, the impact on stock market liquidity. Using a panel data set drawn from the Shanghai stock market, we find a positive and significant liquidity impact associated with the recent round of measures, which reflects not only an improvement in capital allocation efficiency in China’s equity market but, from a financial stability point of view, also a reduction in its vulnerability. The finding also provides evidence on one of the important channels in which financial liberalisation can be transformed into economic growth over time.