Table 1 Variable definitions
Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
ER | The single environment score in Bloomberg's corporate social responsibility score |
S | The single social score in Bloomberg's corporate social responsibility score |
G | The single governance score in Bloomberg's corporate social responsibility score |
H-ER | The environmental responsibility score in the Huazheng ESG evaluation system |
Environmental penalty | Dummy variable. Whether the enterprises receive environmental penalties based on third-party statistics constitutes. If there is yes, it will be 1; if there is no, it will be 0 |
Terminal governance | Dummy variable. Whether the enterprises adopt the measures to reduce the three wastes. If there is yes, it will be 1; if there is no, it will be 0 |
Front-end governance | Dummy variable. Whether the enterprises use renewable energy or adopt policies and measures of the circular economy. If there is yes, it will be 1; if there is no, it will be 0 |
Employee behavior | Dummy variable. whether the enterprises have green office policies or measures. If there is yes, it will be 1; if there is no, it will be 0 |
Green × Time | Core explanatory variables. It represents the interactive item of issuing green bonds and time dummy variable |
Post × Treat | It represents the interactive item between polluting enterprises and policy time affected by the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China 2014 |
Green × Time × Cer | It represents the triple differential variable of green bonds, time, and third-party ratings |
Green × Time × Clause | It represents the triple differential variable of green bonds, time, and green project clauses |
Size | Natural logarithm of annual total assets |
Lev | Total liabilities at the end of the year/total assets at the end of the year |
Growth | Operating income of the current year/operating income of the previous year—1 |
ROA | Net profit/average balance of total assets |
ROE | Net profit/average balance of shareholders' equity |
Cashflow | Net cash flow from operating activities/operating income |
Board | The natural logarithm of the number of directors |
Tobin Q | Market value/total assets at the end of the year |
Attention | Count variable. Statistics on the frequency of environmental words in annual reports and corporate environmental and social responsibility reports |
Posnews | Count variable. Number of positive reports from mainstream media on enterprises |
Neunews | Count variable. Number of neutral reports from mainstream media on enterprises |
Negnews | Count variable. Number of negative reports from mainstream media on enterprises |