摘要：《企业环境信用评价办法（试行）》的实施将企业环境行为正式纳入社会信用评价体系，同时也将环境信用评价结果与银行等金融机构共享，使得环境信用评价成为以信用监管为基础的新型环境监管机制。在这一背景下，环境信用评价如何影响企业信贷融资尚缺乏经验证据。本文基于2014—2020年沪深A股重污染上市公司样本，考察环境信用评价对企业信贷融资的影响及作用机理。研究表明，良好的环境信用评价有利于企业获得信贷资金支持。经过PSM、差分模型回归、2SLS回归以及排他性解释后，结果仍稳健。机制分析发现，良好的环境信用评价可通过强化公司内部治理与缓解企业面临的社会声誉压力，进而有利于企业获得信贷融资。进一步研究表明，环境信用评价主要有利于企业获得短期借款，对长期借款的影响不显著。这一作用主要体现在高资本密集度企业、国有企业或处于东部地区的样本企业中。本文弥补了环境信用评价与企业信贷融资的文献缺口，丰富与拓展了信用评价影响后果的相关研究，可为政府进一步从信用体系建设视角改善环境规制效果提供经验借鉴与有益启示。
关键词：环境信用评价；信贷融资；治理效应；声誉效应
The Impact of Environmental Credit Rating on Corporate Credit Financing: Empirical Evidence from Heavily Polluting Listed Companies
Cui Guanghui, Jiang Yingbing
Abstract: The Measures for Environmental Credit Rating of Enterprises (for Trial Implementation) was promulgated and implemented, and the environmental behavior of enterprises was formally incorporated into the social credit rating system. It states that environmental credit rating results will be shared with banks and other financial institutions, making environmental credit rating a new type of environmental regulatory mechanism based on credit regulation. In this context, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how environmental credit rating affects corporate credit financing. Based on a sample of heavily polluting listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2014 to 2020, this paper specifically examines the impact and mechanism of environmental credit rating on corporate credit financing. The study shows that a good environmental credit rating facilitates firms' access to credit funding support. The results remain robust after PSM, difference model regression, 2SLS regression, and exclusionary interpretation. The analysis of the mechanism found that good environmental credit rating can strengthen the internal governance of the company and alleviate the social reputation pressure faced by the enterprise, which in turn facilitates the enterprise's access to credit financing. Further research shows that environmental credit rating mainly favors firms' access to short-term loan and has a non-significant effect on long-term loan. This effect is mainly found in highly capital-intensive enterprises, state-owned enterprises, or sample enterprises in the eastern region. This paper bridges the gap in the literature on environmental credit rating and corporate credit financing, enriches and expands the research on the consequences of credit rating, and provides experience and useful insights on how governments can further improve the effectiveness of environmental regulation from the perspective of credit system construction.
Keywords: Environmental Credit Rating; Credit Financing; Governance Effect; Reputation Effect
