IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v78y2025ics1544612325004416.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental taxes, political connections, and firm financialization: Evidence from China's environmental tax reform

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Zhijiu
  • You, Fengyi
  • Qin, Yanfang
  • Wu, Ge

Abstract

This study identifies the impact of environmental taxes on firm financialization. Using a triple-differences (DDD) strategy, we find that the enactment of the Environmental Protection Tax Law significantly inhibits firm financialization, which is primarily driven by firms with political connections. The decline in firm financialization can be attributed to increased investments in R&D and environmental protection, especially for politically connected firms. Further analyses suggest that environmental enforcement and legal environments amplify the inhibitory effect. We argue that the fee-to-tax reform leads environmental protection to the rule of law and reduces potential government-business collusion, which is conducive to long-term environmental governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Zhijiu & You, Fengyi & Qin, Yanfang & Wu, Ge, 2025. "Environmental taxes, political connections, and firm financialization: Evidence from China's environmental tax reform," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:78:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325004416
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107178
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325004416
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107178?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. Hou, Qingsong & Tang, Xiaofang & Teng, Min, 2021. "Labor costs and financialization of real sectors in emerging markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Zhi Tang & Delmonize A. Smith, 2012. "How does state ownership affect pollution control? Evidence from the Chinese iron and steel industry," International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(3), pages 173-190.
    3. Raymond Fisman & Yongxiang Wang, 2015. "The Mortality Cost of Political Connections," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(4), pages 1346-1382.
    4. Bo Li & Jacopo Ponticelli, 2022. "Going Bankrupt in China [The politics of foreclosures]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(3), pages 449-486.
    5. Yang, Zhijiu & Ding, Hai & Zhu, Wenbo, 2024. "Environmental regulation and land resource allocation in China: Empirical evidence from micro-level land transaction data," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    6. Ian W.H. Parry & John Norregaard & Dirk Heine, 2012. "Environmental Tax Reform: Principles from Theory and Practice," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 101-125, August.
    7. Min Maung & Craig Wilson & Xiaobo Tang, 2016. "Political Connections and Industrial Pollution: Evidence Based on State Ownership and Environmental Levies in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 649-659, November.
    8. Yuping Deng & Yanrui Wu & Helian Xu, 2020. "Political Connections and Firm Pollution Behaviour: An Empirical Study," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(4), pages 867-898, April.
    9. Huang, Jialin & Luo, Yu & Peng, Yuchao, 2021. "Corporate financial asset holdings under economic policy uncertainty: Precautionary saving or speculating?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1359-1378.
    10. Zhao, Yan & Su, Kun, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate financialization: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    11. Lu, Shuling & Yang, Qijing, 2024. "Price of going green: The employment effects of the environmental protection tax in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Liu, Xing & Liu, Fengzhong, 2022. "Environmental regulation and corporate financial asset allocation: A natural experiment from the new environmental protection law in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    13. Qi, Minhao & Liu, Yuxin & Hu, Changlong & Yang, Zhijiu, 2024. "The unintended consequence of environmental centralization: Evidence from firm financialization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    14. Wang, Qianqian & Sun, Xinmeng & Xiong, Haoyang & Wang, Qi & Zhang, Bing, 2024. "Environmental taxes, environmental outsourcing, and pollution abatement: Evidence from Chinese industrial sewage discharge enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    15. Bosquet, Benoit, 2000. "Environmental tax reform: does it work? A survey of the empirical evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 19-32, July.
    16. Gao, Ming & Gu, Qiankun & He, Shijun & Kong, Dongmin, 2023. "Legal environment and corporate tax avoidance: A geographic discontinuity design based on the Great Wall in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    17. Infante, L. & Piazza, M., 2014. "Political connections and preferential lending at local level: Some evidence from the Italian credit market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 246-262.
    18. Zhang, Xiaoliang & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2024. "Does carbon emission trading policy induce financialization of non-financial firms? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    19. Liu, Zehao & Tang, Huoqing & Zhang, Chengsi, 2023. "Corporate governance, moral hazard, and financialization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 318-331.
    20. Kong, Dongmin & Tao, Yunqing & Wang, Yanan, 2020. "China's anti-corruption campaign and firm productivity: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    21. Liu, Guangqiang & Yang, Zhiqing & Zhang, Fan & Zhang, Nan, 2022. "Environmental tax reform and environmental investment: A quasi-natural experiment based on China's Environmental Protection Tax Law," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    22. Hassan, Mahmoud & Oueslati, Walid & Rousselière, Damien, 2020. "Environmental taxes, reforms and economic growth: an empirical analysis of panel data," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    23. Liu, Guanchun & Liu, Yuanyuan & Zhang, Chengsi & Zhu, Yueteng, 2021. "Social insurance law and corporate financing decisions in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 816-837.
    24. Zhang, Peng, 2023. "Anti-corruption campaign, political connections, and court bias: Evidence from Chinese corporate lawsuits," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    25. Xu, Ye & Wen, Shuang & Tao, Chang-Qi, 2023. "Impact of environmental tax on pollution control: A sustainable development perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 89-106.
    26. Tchorzewska, K.B. & Garcia-Quevedo, J. & Martinez-Ros, E., 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of environmental taxation on green technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    27. Wan, Lihong & Zhang, Panpan & Lin, Qi, 2023. "The loss of political connections and corporate financialization," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    28. Xie, Linlin & Zuo, Shiyue & Xie, Ziqin, 2023. "Environmental protection fee-to-tax and enterprise investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    29. Liu, Guangqiang & Zhang, Lingyun & Xie, Ziqin, 2022. "Environmental taxes and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    30. Ian W.H. Parry & Mr. John Norregaard & Mr. Dirk Heine, 2012. "Environmental Tax Reform: Principles from Theory and Practice to Date," IMF Working Papers 2012/180, International Monetary Fund.
    31. Yamazaki, Akio, 2017. "Jobs and climate policy: Evidence from British Columbia's revenue-neutral carbon tax," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 197-216.
    32. Umit, Resul & Schaffer, Lena Maria, 2020. "Attitudes towards carbon taxes across Europe: The role of perceived uncertainty and self-interest," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    33. Feng, Chen & Ye, Yongwei & Bai, Caiquan, 2023. "Tax enforcement and corporate financial irregularities: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Qi, Minhao & Liu, Yuxin & Hu, Changlong & Yang, Zhijiu, 2024. "The unintended consequence of environmental centralization: Evidence from firm financialization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    2. Zhang, Xiaoliang & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2024. "Does carbon emission trading policy induce financialization of non-financial firms? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Chen, Lirong & Long, Yuxuan & Tang, Xuemei & Wang, Jiani, 2025. "Can accounts receivable factoring restrain corporate financialization? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Alberto Gago & Xavier Labandeira & Xiral López Otero, 2014. "A Panorama on Energy Taxes and Green Tax Reforms," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 208(1), pages 145-190, March.
    5. Wu, Kai & Lu, Yufei, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and financialization: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    6. Jin, Youliang & Wang, Shujuan & Cheng, Xu & Zeng, Huixiang, 2024. "Can environmental tax reform curb corporate environmental violations? A quasi-natural experiment based on China's “environmental fees to taxes”," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    7. Zhong, Tingyong & Duan, Ying & Ding, Zhiguo, 2024. "How bankruptcy system innovation affects firm investment behavior: A quasi-natural experiment based on the establishment of bankruptcy courts in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    8. Zhu, Yafang & Guo, Yuanyuan, 2024. "How does implementing the social insurance law affect enterprises' investment preferences?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    9. Haowei Yu & Ruoyu Wang & Ling‐Yun He, 2023. "Environmental implications of political connections and state ownership: Theory and evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 1228-1253, March.
    10. Hu, Guoqiang & Sun, Wenxiang & Xu, Yuanzheng & Mao, Hong-an, 2025. "Executive accountability systems and the financial investments of state-owned enterprises in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Huang, Jin & Jin, Yong & Duan, Yang & She, Yanling, 2023. "Do Chinese firms speculate during high economic policy uncertainty? Evidence from wealth management products," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Milan Ščasný & Emanuele Massetti & Jan Melichar & Samuel Carrara, 2015. "Quantifying the Ancillary Benefits of the Representative Concentration Pathways on Air Quality in Europe," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(2), pages 383-415, October.
    13. Jia, Zhijie & Lin, Boqiang, 2020. "Rethinking the choice of carbon tax and carbon trading in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    14. Yuping Deng & Yanrui Wu & Helian Xu, 2022. "Emission Reduction and Value-added Export Nexus at Firm Level," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 22-19, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    15. Sen, Suphi & Vollebergh, Herman, 2018. "The effectiveness of taxing the carbon content of energy consumption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 74-99.
    16. Ma, Anmiao, 2024. "The role of management characteristics in trade frictions and corporate financialization," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline, 2022. "Rendre acceptable la nécessaire taxation du carbone. Quelles pistes pour la France ?," Revue de l'OFCE, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(1), pages 15-53.
    18. Bas Smeets & Guan Schellekens & Thomas Bauwens & Harry Wilting, 2021. "What’s the damage? Monetizing the environmental externalities of the Dutch economy and its supply chain," Working Papers 719, DNB.
    19. Oueslati, Walid, 2013. "Short and Long-term Effects of Environmental Tax Reform," Climate Change and Sustainable Development 146354, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    20. Fang, Xubing & Liu, Maotao, 2024. "Regional judicial capacity and corporate total factor productivity: Evidence from the establishment of circuit courts," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 465-489.

    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:78:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325004416. 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.