Digital finance and corporate ESG

摘要

This study investigates the effect of digital finance on corporate environment, social and gover-nance (ESG). Using a large sample of Chinese listed firms over the period 2011-2020, we find that digital finance positively affects corporate ESG performance, which remains robust after a series of robustness checks. We also find that digital finance enhances the ESG by mitigating corporate financial constraints. In addition, the positive effect of digital finance on corporate ESG perfor-mance is more pronounced in non-state-owned firms, small-sized firms, firms with lower level of marketization, and firms located in the central and western regions of China. Overall, we provide a timely assessment of the social value of digital finance in emerging countries like China from the new perspective of ESG.

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