Public Attention to the Environment and Corporate Environmental Violations

Using environmental violations data of listed firms in China from 2011 to 2018, we examine the effect of public attention on corporate environmental violations. Our findings suggest that public attention to the environment in the city where a firm is located can reduce the probability and frequency of the firm's environmental violations. Furthermore, this effect is more salient for firms that contribute more to the economy and those in cities with higher economic pressure. We identify three potential mechanisms: public environmental participation, governments’ environmental governance, and firms’ environmental awareness. Additional tests show that firms located in areas with higher public environmental attention experience a larger stock price impact and higher financial constraint after committing environmental violations. Finally, public environmental attention has a spillover effect on firms in adjacent cities. This paper reveals a new determinant of corporate environmental violations and provides important implications for environmental governance.