Doing good in times of need: Green finance policy and strategic corporate social responsibility

This study investigates the effect of a green finance policy on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of firms in heavily polluting industries. Based on the 2017 policy of the People's Bank of China (PBC), which incorporates green finance into its macroprudential assessment system, we employ the difference-in-differences method to show that firms in heavily polluting industries have significantly improved their CSR performance after the implementation of the PBC's green finance policy. In response to the negative effect of the PBC's policy on their financial position, affected firms strategically engage in CSR activities in the hope that appearing socially responsible will help them recover from their adverse position. Furthermore, firms in heavily polluting industries that enhance their CSR performance after the PBC's policy have benefited from reduced bank credit transaction costs and have obtained more bank loans. The improvement in CSR performance is mainly concentrated in firms that are non-state-owned, small in size, highly dependent on external financing, and receiving more media attention. Overall, this study reveals a social consequence of the PBC's green finance policy on the CSR performance.