IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v68y2025ics1566014125000901.html

Integrity atmosphere and the cost of equity: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Yuyang
  • Zhu, Shuyi

Abstract

This study investigates how the integrity atmosphere in a firm's local area affects the firm's cost of equity. Using the Credit Demonstration City Construction program in China as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that firms headquartered in pilot cities enjoy lower equity financing costs following implementation of the program. The results can be attributed to improved information-disclosure quality, decreased agency costs, and better corporate social responsibility performance. Further analyses show that the reduction in the cost of equity is significant for firms whose monitoring environments are weak and those that operate in industries that depend heavily on equity financing.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Yuyang & Zhu, Shuyi, 2025. "Integrity atmosphere and the cost of equity: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:68:y:2025:i:c:s1566014125000901
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2025.101341
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014125000901
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2025.101341?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jiang, Fuxiu & Jiang, Zhan & Kim, Kenneth A., 2020. "Capital markets, financial institutions, and corporate finance in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Hoi, Chun Keung(Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does social capital mitigate agency problems? Evidence from Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 498-519.
    3. Huang, Qianqian & Yuan, Tao, 2021. "Does Political Corruption Impede Firm Innovation? Evidence from the United States," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 213-248, February.
    4. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    5. Boubaker, Sabri & Boubakri, Narjess & Grira, Jocelyn & Guizani, Asma, 2018. "Sovereign wealth funds and equity pricing: Evidence from implied cost of equity of publicly traded targets," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 202-224.
    6. Ray Ball & Lakshmanan Shivakumar, 2006. "The Role of Accruals in Asymmetrically Timely Gain and Loss Recognition," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 207-242, May.
    7. Li, Chaoying & Geng, Chunxiao & Sun, Jian & Yuan, Chun, 2024. "Contract enforcement efficiency and corporate vertical specialization: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment of “announcement of dishonest persons” in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    9. Belkhir, Mohamed & Boubakri, Narjess & Grira, Jocelyn, 2017. "Political risk and the cost of capital in the MENA region," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 155-172.
    10. Vivian W. Fang & Xuan Tian & Sheri Tice, 2014. "Does Stock Liquidity Enhance or Impede Firm Innovation?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(5), pages 2085-2125, October.
    11. Gupta, Atul & Raman, Kartik & Shang, Chenguang, 2018. "Social capital and the cost of equity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 102-117.
    12. Hou, Kewei & van Dijk, Mathijs A. & Zhang, Yinglei, 2012. "The implied cost of capital: A new approach," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 504-526.
    13. Garmaise, Mark J & Liu, Jun, 2005. "Corruption, Firm Governance, and the Cost of Capital," University of California at Los Angeles, Anderson Graduate School of Management qt29403706, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA.
    14. Alexander Dyck & Natalya Volchkova & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1093-1135, June.
    15. Laura T. Starks, 2009. "EFA Keynote Speech: “Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: What Do Investors Care about? What Should Investors Care about?”," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(4), pages 461-468, November.
    16. Sudheer Chava, 2014. "Environmental Externalities and Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(9), pages 2223-2247, September.
    17. Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2006. "International Differences in the Cost of Equity Capital: Do Legal Institutions and Securities Regulation Matter?," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 485-531, June.
    18. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    19. He, Guanming & Li, Zhichao & Yu, Ling & Zhou, Zhanqiang, 2025. "Does commercial reform embracing digital technologies mitigate stock price crash risk?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    20. Iftekhar Hasan & Chun‐Keung (Stan) Hoi & Qiang Wu & Hao Zhang, 2017. "Does Social Capital Matter in Corporate Decisions? Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 55(3), pages 629-668, June.
    21. Ji, Qiong & Quan, Xiaofeng & Yin, Hongying & Yuan, Qingbo, 2021. "Gambling preferences and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    22. Li, Wenfei & Li, Donghui & Yang, Shijie, 2022. "The impact of internet penetration on venture capital investments: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    23. Hassan, M. Kabir & Karim, Md. Sydul & Kozlowski, Steven E., 2022. "Implications of public corruption for local firms: Evidence from corporate debt maturity," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    24. Kevin K. Li & Partha Mohanram, 2014. "Evaluating cross-sectional forecasting models for implied cost of capital," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1152-1185, September.
    25. Jocelyn Grira & M. Kabir Hassan & Chiraz Labidi & Issouf Soumaré, 2019. "Equity Pricing in Islamic Banks: International Evidence," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(3), pages 613-633, February.
    26. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2015. "The value of corporate culture," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 60-76.
    27. Heinkel, Robert & Kraus, Alan & Zechner, Josef, 2001. "The Effect of Green Investment on Corporate Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 431-449, December.
    28. James A. Ohlson & Beate E. Juettner-Nauroth, 2005. "Expected EPS and EPS Growth as Determinantsof Value," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 349-365, September.
    29. Cui, Xinghua & Xu, Ning & Yan, Xiangwu & Zhang, Wenjie, 2023. "How does social credit system constructions affect corporate carbon emissions? Empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    30. Volker Laux, 2008. "Board Independence and CEO Turnover," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(1), pages 137-171, March.
    31. Dahya, Jay & Dimitrov, Orlin & McConnell, John J., 2008. "Dominant shareholders, corporate boards, and corporate value: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 73-100, January.
    32. Cheng, Cheng & Chu, Yongqiang & Deng, Zijie & Huang, Bo, 2022. "Venture capital and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    33. Yurou Liu & Jinyang Liu, 2024. "Social Integrity and Stock Price Crash Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 703-721, March.
    34. Iftekhar Hasan & Chun‐Keung (Stan) Hoi & Qiang Wu & Hao Zhang, 2017. "Does Social Capital Matter in Corporate Decisions? Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 629-668, June.
    35. Scott D. Dyreng & William J. Mayew & Christopher D. Williams, 2012. "Religious Social Norms and Corporate Financial Reporting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7-8), pages 845-875, September.
    36. Khan, Mozaffar & Watts, Ross L., 2009. "Estimation and empirical properties of a firm-year measure of accounting conservatism," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 132-150, December.
    37. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    38. Fuxiu Jiang & Kenneth A. Kim & Yunbiao Ma & John R. Nofsinger & Beibei Shi, 2019. "Corporate Culture and Investment–Cash Flow Sensitivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 425-439, January.
    39. Yunqi Fan & Fangzhao Zhou & Yunbi An & Jun Yang, 2021. "Investor Sentiment and Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence from China," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 310-339, October.
    40. Dan Gode & Partha Mohanram, 2003. "Inferring the Cost of Capital Using the Ohlson–Juettner Model," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 399-431, December.
    41. Li, Qian & Guo, Mengting, 2022. "Do the resignations of politically connected independent directors affect corporate social responsibility? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    42. Zhou, Fangzhao & Zhu, Jichen & Qi, Yawei & Yang, Jun & An, Yunbi, 2021. "Multi-dimensional corporate social responsibilities and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    43. Heese, Jonas & Pérez-Cavazos, Gerardo & Peter, Caspar David, 2022. "When the local newspaper leaves town: The effects of local newspaper closures on corporate misconduct," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 445-463.
    44. Zhitao Wang & Yinuo Xu & Linxiao Ding & Xiaofang Chen, 2025. "Does Improvement of the Social Credit Environment Facilitate Companies’ Introduction of Foreign Investment?— A Quasi-Natural Experiment of Social Credit System Reform Pilot Programs," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(7), pages 2001-2021, May.
    45. Donelson, Dain C. & Kettell, Laura & McInnis, John & Toynbee, Sara, 2022. "The need to validate exogenous shocks: Shareholder derivative litigation, universal demand laws and firm behavior," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1).
    46. Hanwen Chen & Jeff Zeyun Chen & Gerald J. Lobo & Yanyan Wang, 2011. "Effects of Audit Quality on Earnings Management and Cost of Equity Capital: Evidence from China," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 892-925, September.
    47. Dane M. Christensen & Keith L. Jones & David G. Kenchington, 2018. "Gambling Attitudes and Financial Misreporting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(3), pages 1229-1261, September.
    48. Yuping Jia, 2013. "Meeting or Missing Earnings Benchmarks: The Role of CEO Integrity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3-4), pages 373-398, April.
    49. Sun, Xifang & Yang, Tianjian & Liu, Liyu, 2024. "Does China’s social credit system construction promote foreign bank expansion?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    50. Richard Lambert & Christian Leuz & Robert E. Verrecchia, 2007. "Accounting Information, Disclosure, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(2), pages 385-420, May.
    51. Qihang Xue & Caiquan Bai & Jinmeng Shi & Dequn Cui, 2024. "Regional Integrity and Corporate Green-Technology Innovation: Evidence from Deadbeat Borrowers in China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(1), pages 83-98, January.
    52. Ning Hu & Siqi Lu & Tao Ma & Jianfang Ye, 2020. "Short‐selling and cost of equity: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 3681-3707, December.
    53. Zuo, Jingjing & Huang, Changqing & Qiu, Baoyin & Mai, Ruidong, 2023. "The construction of social credit system and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    54. Tao, Yunqing & Kong, Dongmin & Sun, Nan & Li, Xiaofan, 2024. "Social credit and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    55. repec:taf:emfitr:v:55:y:2019:i:3:p:613-633 is not listed on IDEAS
    56. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    57. Amin, Md Ruhul & Kim, Incheol & Lee, Suin, 2021. "Local religiosity, workplace safety, and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    58. George A. Akerlof, 2007. "The Missing Motivation in Macroeconomics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(1), pages 5-36, March.
    59. Baker, Andrew C. & Larcker, David F. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2022. "How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 370-395.
    60. Appel, Ian & Farre-Mensa, Joan & Simintzi, Elena, 2019. "Patent trolls and startup employment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(3), pages 708-725.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gao, He & Lu, Junwei & Yang, Laifeng & Cheng, Zijian & Liu, Zhangxin (Frank), 2026. "Cutting corners, cutting dividends: Evidence from reverse mergers in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Ahmed Khamis Al‐Hadi, 2023. "Consequences of local social norms: A review of the literature in accounting, finance, and corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 3-45, March.
    2. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    3. Eltayyeb Al-Fakir AI Rabab’a & Syed Shams & Afzalur Rashid, 2026. "Carbon risk and cost of equity: the role of country-level governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 30(1), pages 261-303, March.
    4. Hasan, Iftekhar & (Stan) Hoi, Chun-Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2020. "Is social capital associated with corporate innovation? Evidence from publicly listed firms in the U.S," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    5. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong) & Marwick, Trevor, 2022. "Corporate sexual orientation equality policies and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    6. Sandy Lai & Chen Lin & Xiaorong Ma, 2024. "RegTech Adoption and the Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(1), pages 309-331, January.
    7. Huang, Chenchen & Luo, Di & Mukherjee, Soumyatanu & Mishra, Tapas, 2022. "To Acquire or to Ally? Managing Partners’ Environmental Risk in International Expansion," MPRA Paper 121808, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Jan 2023.
    8. Bardos, Katsiaryna Salavei & Mishra, Dev R. & Somé, Hyacinthe Y., 2025. "Firm-level climate sentiments, climate politics and implied cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    9. Jains P. Chacko & Lakshmi Padmakumari, 2023. "The Effect of Investment Inefficiency on Expected Returns," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 22(3), pages 272-296, September.
    10. Chen, Yunsen & Feng, Zizhen & Yu, Yao & Yuan, Wei, 2025. "The capital market consequences of the regulator-led minority shareholder: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3).
    11. Wilberg, Sindre & Kjellevoll, Vibeke & Holz, Franziska & Neumann, Anne, 2025. "Impact of ESG performance on the cost of capital in the energy, utilities, and basic materials sectors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    12. Zuo, Jingjing & Qiu, Baoyin & Zhu, Guoyiming & Lei, Guangyong, 2023. "Local speculative culture and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Li, Sen & Zhang, Yi, 2025. "Environmental risk and stock price crash risk: Evidence from energy substitution policy adoption," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    14. Hossain, Ashrafee & Hossain, Takdir & Jha, Anand & Mougoué, Mbodja, 2023. "Credit ratings and social capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Mansoor Afzali & Gonul Colak & Sami Vähämaa, 2025. "Climate Change Denial and Corporate Environmental Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 196(1), pages 31-59, January.
    16. Ziqi Gao & Leye Li & Louise Yi Lu, 2021. "Social Capital and Managers’ Use of Corporate Resources," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 593-613, January.
    17. Zhang, Xiaoliang & Wang, Qilin & Wang, Xin, 2025. "Unveiling the bright side of rice-farming culture in shaping innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    18. Pasiouras, Fotios & Samet, Anis, 2022. "Social capital and the cost of bank equity: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    19. Li, Kenuo & Zhang, Lijuan, 2025. "Does share pledging affect workplace safety?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    20. Shahab, Yasir & Wang, Peng & Gull, Ammar Ali & Chen, Yugang & Ntim, Collins G., 2023. "Social trust and environmental performance in China: Does state ownership matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G39 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Other

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:68:y:2025:i:c:s1566014125000901. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.