IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v58y2023ipcs1544612323009236.html

Can enterprises' participation in targeted poverty alleviation reduce the cost of debt financing? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Wenjia
  • Liang, Yiyan
  • Li, Pan

Abstract

Poverty reduction is a hot topic in current academic research. Using a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed enterprises in China, this paper investigates whether firms participate in targeted poverty relief project can reduce debt financing costs. The study finds that enterprises' participation in targeted poverty alleviation effectively reduces debt financing costs. Mechanism tests further demonstrate that such participation diminishes the information asymmetry between internal and external enterprises, enhances brand value and reputation, attracts ESG investors to invest, and ultimately results in reduced debt financing costs. Furthermore, private enterprises' participation in targeted poverty alleviation is more effective in reducing their debt financing costs compared with state-owned enterprises. These findings highlight the win-win nature of enterprises' involvement in targeted poverty alleviation, offering valuable insights for developing countries to sustainably eliminate poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Wenjia & Liang, Yiyan & Li, Pan, 2023. "Can enterprises' participation in targeted poverty alleviation reduce the cost of debt financing? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pc:s1544612323009236
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104551
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612323009236
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2023.104551?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. Daniele Pianeselli & Andrea Zaghini, 2014. "The cost of firms� debt financing and the global financial crisis," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 950, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    3. Liang, Qing & Li, Zhaohua, 2022. "Debt enforcement and the cost of debt financing in M&As," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    4. Zhang, Yin & Wan, Guanghua, 2006. "The impact of growth and inequality on rural poverty in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 694-712, December.
    5. Srivastava, Jagriti & Sampath, Aravind & Gopalakrishnan, Balagopal, 2022. "Is ESG the key to unlock debt financing during the COVID-19 pandemic? International evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    6. Lys, Thomas & Naughton, James P. & Wang, Clare, 2015. "Signaling through corporate accountability reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 56-72.
    7. Lin, Tsui-Jung & Chen, Yi-Pei & Tsai, Han-Fang, 2017. "The relationship among information asymmetry, dividend policy and ownership structure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 1-12.
    8. Bolognesi, Enrica & Burchi, Alberto, 2023. "The impact of the ESG disclosure on sell-side analysts’ target prices: The new era post Paris agreements," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Zhang, Huiming & Huang, Jiying & Wu, Kai & Wang, Shouyang & Nygaard, Christian & Qiu, Yueming, 2022. "Do political connections affect corporate poverty alleviation decisions? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Huang, Rongbing & Ritter, Jay R. & Zhang, Donghang, 2016. "Private Equity Firms’ Reputational Concerns and the Costs of Debt Financing," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 29-54, February.
    11. Lei Zhou & Feng Wei, 2023. "Does engaging in government initiated corporate social responsibility activities improve corporate innovation? Evidence from China," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 2119426-211, December.
    12. Christopher Udry, 2011. "Esther Duflo: 2010 John Bates Clark Medalist," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 197-216, Summer.
    13. Pianeselli, Daniele & Zaghini, Andrea, 2014. "The cost of firms’ debt financing and the global financial crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 74-83.
    14. Duflo, Esther & Dupas, Pascaline & Kremer, Michael, 2015. "School governance, teacher incentives, and pupil–teacher ratios: Experimental evidence from Kenyan primary schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 92-110.
    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. Tianlong Luo & Qingyu Zhang, 2025. "Inclusive growth: peer-based poverty alleviation supply chain with tax exemption policy," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1-43, December.
    2. Zhou, Jing & Yang, Ying & Zhang, Fang & Jiu, Lili, 2025. "Shift in corporate financing strategies: The impact of targeted poverty alleviation on trade credit," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Shi, Xuanyi & Lin, Yongjia & Wang, Yizhi, 2024. "Targeting poverty alleviation and stock price crash risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PB).
    4. Wang, Muyun & Zhang, Ying, 2024. "Excess goodwill and enterprise litigation risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    5. Lu, Wenjing, 2025. "Can the precision poverty reduction policy stimulate enterprise total factor productivity?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    6. Wei, Fang & Yan, Siyao & Su, Daan & Zhang, Minyuan, 2024. "Management tone and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from Chinese listed companies' involvement in rural revitalization," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Weng, Chen & Chen, Jie, 2025. "Can political connections promote corporate social responsibility? Evidence from targeted poverty alleviation programs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    8. Yu Zhang & Xiaotong Wang & Wei Guo & Xinlei Guo & Qisheng Wang & Xin Tan, 2024. "Does ESG Performance Affect the Enterprise Value of China’s Heavily Polluting Listed Companies?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-21, March.
    9. Meng, Bin & Lin, Zhipeng & Liu, Tao & Shi, Baofeng, 2024. "Political connection and corporate senior-care investment: Active investment or passive involvement?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).

    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. Blazquez, Jorge & Galeotti, Marzio & Martin-Moreno, Jose M., 2021. "Green recovery packages for a post-Covid-19 world: A lesson from the collapse of Spanish wind farms in the past financial crisis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    2. Tanin, Tauhidul Islam & Sarker, Ashutosh & Hammoudeh, Shawkat & Batten, Jonathan A., 2024. "The determinants of corporate cost of debt during a financial crisis," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(6).
    3. La Rocca, Maurizio & Fasano, Francesco & Staglianò, Raffaele & La Rocca, Elvira Tiziana & Deloof, Marc, 2025. "The financial life cycle of European SMEs before, during and after crisis periods. What is the role of a country's financial system?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    4. Jorg Bibow, 2015. "The Euro's Savior? Assessing the ECB's Crisis Management Performance and Potential for Crisis Resolution," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_845, Levy Economics Institute.
    5. François Koulischer, 2015. "Asymmetric shocks in a currency union: The role of central bank collateral policy," Working papers 554, Banque de France.
    6. Weng, Chen & Chen, Jie, 2025. "Can political connections promote corporate social responsibility? Evidence from targeted poverty alleviation programs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    7. Mehmet Levent Erdaş & Emel Bachá Sımoes, 2020. "The Relationship between Audit Mechanisms and Dividend Payout Policy within the Framework of Corporate Governance: The Case of Turkey," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 62(62), pages 255-284, December.
    8. Naseem Ahamed & Nitya Nand Tripathi, 2023. "Financial Performance as a Determinant of The Cost of Capital: An Empirical Study on Listed Companies in India," Capital Markets Review, Malaysian Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 69-87.
    9. Jaehong Lee & Eunsoo Kim, 2020. "The Influence of Corporate Environmental Responsibility on Overinvestment Behavior: Evidence from South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Mehmet Levent Erdaş & Emel Bachá Sımoes, 2020. "The Relationship between Audit Mechanisms and Dividend Payout Policy within the Framework of Corporate Governance: The Case of Turkey," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 62(0), pages 255-284, December.
    11. Birindelli, Giuliana & Quas, Anita & Rancan, Michela & Vandone, Daniela, 2025. "How important are ESG ratings for financial institutions? Evidence from corporate leverage ratios across Europe," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Nazari, Jamal A. & Poursoleyman, Ehsan, 2025. "Corporate social responsibility signalling under external transparency demands," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Kiesel, Florian, 2016. "The effect of credit and rating events on credit default swap and equity markets," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 81265, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    14. Chen, Lifeng & Khurram, Muhammad Usman & Gao, Yuying & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Lucey, Brian, 2023. "ESG disclosure and technological innovation capabilities of the Chinese listed companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Andrea Zaghini, 2014. "Bank Bonds: Size, Systemic Relevance and the Sovereign," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 161-184, June.
    16. Guillaume Horny & Simone Manganelli & Benoit Mojon, 2018. "Measuring Financial Fragmentation in the Euro Area Corporate Bond Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Stereńczak, Szymon & Kubiak, Jarosław, 2022. "Dividend policy and stock liquidity: Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    18. Carlos P. Maquieira & Christian Espinosa‐Méndez & José T. Arias, 2024. "The impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) score on dividend payment of large family firms: What is the role of financial constraints? International evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2311-2332, May.
    19. Zaghini, Andrea, 2016. "Fragmentation and heterogeneity in the euro-area corporate bond market: Back to normal?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 51-61.
    20. Jose E. Gomez-Gonzalez & Jorge M. Uribe & Oscar M. Valencia, 2023. "Risk spillovers between global corporations and Latin American sovereigns: global factors matter," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(13), pages 1477-1496, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pc:s1544612323009236. 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/frl .

    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.