摘要：2015年1月1日实施的《环境保护法》被誉为中国“史上最严环保法”，该法案能否确实有效约束企业环境失责行为，是决定未来中国绿色转型发展能否顺利实现的关键。本文利用新法案实施这一“准自然实验”，以2012-2017年中国重污染行业上市公司为主要研究对象，采用双重差分法评估该法案实施对企业环境失责行为产生的政策效应。研究发现，新《环境保护法》能显著抑制重污染上市公司的环境失责行为，且这种抑制效果随着法案执行时间的推移而逐渐增强；渠道机制检验表明，企业加大环境保护投入是新《环境保护法》发挥作用的潜在途径；进一步研究发现，这一政策影响在国有企业和市场化水平较低地区更加明显，并随着企业污染程度的提高而更加显著。在此基础上，本文还运用倾向得分匹配、安慰剂检验等一系列方法进行了稳健性测试，进一步验证了研究结论的可靠性。该研究不仅为新《环境保护法》实施效果评估提供了经验证据，也为扎实推进新《环境保护法》的贯彻落实和促使企业履行环境责任提供了借鉴。
关键词：新《环境保护法》；企业环境失责；重污染上市公司；双重差分法
The Influence Mechanism of New Chinese Environmental Protection Law on Corporate Environmental Irresponsibility
Zeng Huixiang, Zhang Xinxin and Zhou Qiong
Abstract: The New Environmental Protection Law implemented on January 1, 2015 is known as the strictest environmental protection law in history in China. Whether the law can effectively restrain corporate environmental irresponsibility is the key to the smooth realization of China's green transformation and development in the future. In view of this, regarding the new law implemented in 2015 as a quasi-natural experiment and taking listed companies in heavily polluting industries in China over 2012-2017 as the main research object, we assess the effects of such a law on corporate environmental irresponsibility behavior by using the difference-in-differences (DID) method. The study found that the implementation of the Chinese Environmental Protection Law 2015 can significantly inhibit the environmental irresponsibility of heavily polluting listed companies, and this inhibitory effect is gradually enhanced as the law implemented over time. The mechanism test shows that enterprises' increasing investment in environmental protection is an important channel by which the new environmental protection law plays its role. Further research shows that the impact of this law is more obvious in state-owned enterprise and areas with a lower level of marketization. In addition, it is more significant with the increase of the pollution degree of enterprises. On this basis, a series of methods such as parallel trend test, propensity score matching and placebo test were also used in the robustness test to further verify the reliability of the research conclusion. This study not only provides empirical evidence for the evaluation of the implementation effect of Chinese Environmental Protection Law 2015, but also provides reference for the solid implementation of Chinese Environmental Protection Law 2015 and promotion of companies to fulfill their environmental responsibilities.
Keywords: Chinese Environmental Protection Law 2015; corporate environmental irresponsibility; heavily polluting listed companies; difference-in-differences
基金项目：本文系国家自然科学基金青年项目“企业环境失责的财务效应：环保督查动态响应视角”（71904208）、湖南省自然科学基金青年项目“涉矿类环境规制对矿业绿色发展的影响机制研究”（2021JJ40796）和湖南省社会科学成果评审委员会课题“分权视角下碳规制竞争、企业低碳行为与碳绩效跃迁机制研究”（XSP21YBZ168）的阶段性成果。
