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Research on the Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Enterprises’ Green Innovation—Based on the Perspective of Corporate Investment and Financing Decisions

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  • Wenjun Zhou

    (School of Management, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
    Research Center of Natural Resources Assets, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China)

  • Xiaorong Huang

    (School of Management, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China)

  • Hao Dai

    (School of Management, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China)

  • Yuanmeng Xi

    (School of Management, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China)

  • Zhansheng Wang

    (School of Management, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China)

  • Long Chen

    (School of Management, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
    Research Center of Natural Resources Assets, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
    Post-Doctoral Scientific Research Workstation of Hebei Bank, Shijiazhuang 050011, China)

Abstract

Improving enterprises’ green innovation ability is beneficial to realize the “win–win” of economic development and environmental protection. As the global economic situation is complex and volatile, economic policies changed frequently. Will the rising uncertainty of economic policies affect enterprises’ green innovation? Taking China’s A-share-listed companies from 2008 to 2019 as the research sample, the Baker index based on news media and network information is used to measure the uncertainty of national economic policy, and the official exchange index based on the complex network is used to measure the uncertainty of economic policy in prefecture-level cities. It is found that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic policy uncertainty and firms’ green innovation capability. Moreover, the uncertainty index of national macroeconomic policy is mostly on the left side of the inverted U shape, which can promote the improvement of enterprises’ green innovation ability. However, too frequent changes in regional economic policies will inhibit enterprises’ green innovation ability. This paper further analyzes the moderating effect of financialization of investment behavior and financing constraint on the impact of economic policy uncertainty on green innovation of enterprises from the perspective of investment and financing behavior choice. It is found that the impact of economic policy uncertainty on green innovation is more obvious for firms with low financing constraints and low financialization.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenjun Zhou & Xiaorong Huang & Hao Dai & Yuanmeng Xi & Zhansheng Wang & Long Chen, 2022. "Research on the Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Enterprises’ Green Innovation—Based on the Perspective of Corporate Investment and Financing Decisions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-24, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2627-:d:757423
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    Cited by:

    1. Yanru Li & Guanglin Sun & Qiang Gao & Changming Cheng, 2023. "Digital Financial Inclusion, Financial Efficiency and Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, January.
    2. Feng, Gen-Fu & Zheng, Mingbo, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and renewable energy innovation: International evidence," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(2).
    3. Wei Wang & Shi Liang & Ruichao Yu & Yumin Su, 2022. "Theoretical Evidence for Green Innovation Driven by Multiple Major Shareholders: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Mengchao Yao & Ziqi Li & Yunfei Wang, 2023. "Features of Industrial Green Technology Innovation in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China Based on Spatial Correlation Network," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Jingtai Wu & Xinyi Cai & Fei Zuo & Yue Dong, 2023. "Study on the Impact of Common Institutional Ownership on Corporate Green Transformation in the Context of “Dual Carbon”: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-20, August.
    6. Xiaoli Hao & Wenqian Fu & Khaldoon Albitar, 2023. "Innovation with ecological sustainability: Does corporate environmental responsibility matter in green innovation?," Journal of Economic Analysis, Anser Press, vol. 2(3), pages 21-42, May.
    7. Ren, Xiaohang & Xia, Xixia & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2023. "Uncertainty of uncertainty and corporate green innovation—Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 634-647.
    8. Chao Wu & Ziyu Liu & Jinquan Liu & Mingze Du, 2022. "Nonlinear Effects of Economic Policy Uncertainty Shocks on Carbon Emissions in China: Evidence from Province-Level Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-16, December.

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