The impact of green-listed companies on rural ecological environments in China: A spatial heterogeneity and empirical analysis.

Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0401664 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-8630 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03014797 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Environ Manage Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London ; New York, Academic Press.

Environment* ; Social Planning*; China ; Economic Development

Based on the panel data of 22 inland provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, this study constructs and measures the level of rural ecological environment in China. The impact of the financial performance of green-listed companies on the rural ecological environment and its moderating and threshold effects are analyzed. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) During 2010-2020, China's rural ecological environment shows a trend of "fluctuating-decreasing-rising" with significant regional non-equilibrium characteristics. (2) The financial performance of green-listed companies has a significantly negative impact on rural ecology. This negative impact has a crucial heterogeneous feature, with a more significant negative impact in areas with a higher rural ecological environment index and less substantial performance in regions with a lower rural ecological environment index. (3) There is a significant positive moderating effect of education level and digitalization on the relationship between the financial performance of green-listed companies on the level of rural ecological development. As moderating variables, the digitalization and education level weakens the negative impact of green-listed companies' performance on the ecological environment. The positive impact of the financial performance of green-listed companies on the development level of the rural ecological environment is more vital in areas with higher per capita education levels and digitalization in rural areas. (4) There is a significant threshold effect on the financial performance of green-listed companies on the level of rural ecological development. When the financial performance of green-listed companies exceeds a particular threshold value, the impact of the financial performance of green-listed companies on the development level of the rural ecological environment is significantly positive. Based on the above findings, this paper puts forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this research and manuscript. The authors have no financial or non-financial interests to disclose that may be deemed to influence the research, findings, and interpretation presented in this manuscript. This research did not receive any specific grant or funding from public, commercial, or non-profit sectors. There are no financial or other relationships that could be interpreted as a conflict of interest affecting the conduct or reporting of the work submitted. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this manuscript. This declaration of interest statement is truthful and is signed by the first author.
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Keywords: Green-listed company; Moderating effect; Rural digital level; Rural ecological level; Rural per capita education level; Threshold effect

Date Created: 20240328 Date Completed: 20240408 Latest Revision: 20240408

20240408

10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120687

38547821