IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ecopln/v58y2025i1d10.1007_s10644-024-09848-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental justice and corporate green transition: a new perspective from environmental courts in China

Author

Listed:
  • Mengyu Li

    (Beijing Technology and Business University)

  • Qian Zheng

    (Beijing Technology and Business University)

  • Zicheng Zhang

    (Tongji University)

  • Yu Zhao

    (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law)

  • Shi Chen

    (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

Different from administrative law enforcement that yields immediate effects on social governance, environmental justice is often considered to have limited impact on enterprises’ green behavior due to its passive and neutral nature. This paper employs propensity score matching-difference in differences method (PSM-DID) to analysis how environmental justice affects the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of enterprises based on quasi natural experiment of the establishment of environmental courts (ECs) in China. The results confirm that the establishment of ECs promotes enterprise’s GTFP, and this conclusion remains robust to multiple scenarios. Our mechanism tests show that ECs enhance enterprise’s GTFP by boosting green innovation and weakening political connections. In addition, the effect of ECs is prominent with greater public supervision and environmental enforcement intensity. Further inspections exhibit that the positive influence of ECs is more significant in capital-intensive industries, eastern regions, and regions with better legal environments. This paper provides new empirical evidence for revealing the connection between environmental justice and corporate green transition, and presents pertinent policy implications on the advancement of environmental justice and the acceleration of corporate green development.

Suggested Citation

  • Mengyu Li & Qian Zheng & Zicheng Zhang & Yu Zhao & Shi Chen, 2025. "Environmental justice and corporate green transition: a new perspective from environmental courts in China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 1-36, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:58:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10644-024-09848-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-024-09848-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10644-024-09848-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10644-024-09848-x?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. W. Reed Walker, 2013. "The Transitional Costs of Sectoral Reallocation: Evidence From the Clean Air Act and the Workforce," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(4), pages 1787-1835.
    2. Rubashkina, Yana & Galeotti, Marzio & Verdolini, Elena, 2015. "Environmental regulation and competitiveness: Empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from European manufacturing sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 288-300.
    3. Song, Malin & Peng, Licheng & Shang, Yuping & Zhao, Xin, 2022. "Green technology progress and total factor productivity of resource-based enterprises: A perspective of technical compensation of environmental regulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    4. Dong-hyun Oh, 2010. "A global Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 183-197, December.
    5. Cui, Xin & Wang, Panpan & Sensoy, Ahmet & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Pan, Yuying, 2022. "Green Credit Policy and Corporate Productivity: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    6. Rolf Färe & Shawna Grosskopf & Carl A Pasurka, Jr., 2001. "Accounting for Air Pollution Emissions in Measures of State Manufacturing Productivity Growth," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 381-409, August.
    7. Marius Ley & Tobias Stucki & Martin Woerter, 2016. "The Impact of Energy Prices on Green Innovation," The Energy Journal, , vol. 37(1), pages 41-76, January.
    8. Paul Lanoie & Jérémy Laurent‐Lucchetti & Nick Johnstone & Stefan Ambec, 2011. "Environmental Policy, Innovation and Performance: New Insights on the Porter Hypothesis," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 803-842, September.
    9. Ge Li & Da Gao & Yi Li, 2023. "Impacts of Market‐based Environmental Regulation on Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 31(3), pages 92-114, May.
    10. Junxia He & Luxia Wang & Decai Tang, 2021. "Research on Green Total Factor Productivity of Yangtze River Economic Belt Based on Environmental Regulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Rema Hanna, 2010. "US Environmental Regulation and FDI: Evidence from a Panel of US-Based Multinational Firms," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 158-189, July.
    12. Kuang, Chun & Liu, Zijie & Zhu, Wenyu, 2021. "Need for speed: High-speed rail and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    13. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    14. Ikhsan Ikhsan & Khairul Amri, 2023. "Sectoral Growth Impacts of Bank Credit Allocation: The Role of COVID-19 Pandemic as Moderating Variable," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 5, pages 32-50.
    15. Yan, Zheming & Zou, Baoling & Du, Kerui & Li, Ke, 2020. "Do renewable energy technology innovations promote China's green productivity growth? Fresh evidence from partially linear functional-coefficient models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    16. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. Khairul Amri & Raja Masbar & B. S. Nazamuddin & Hasdi Aimon, 2024. "Does Unemployment Moderate the Effect of Government Expenditure on Poverty? A Cross-Provinces Data Evidence from Indonesia," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 2, pages 92-113.
    18. Zhang, Qi & Yu, Zhi & Kong, Dongmin, 2019. "The real effect of legal institutions: Environmental courts and firm environmental protection expenditure," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    19. Zhang, Bingbing & Yu, Lan & Sun, Chuanwang, 2022. "How does urban environmental legislation guide the green transition of enterprises? Based on the perspective of enterprises' green total factor productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    20. Tone, Kaoru, 2002. "A slacks-based measure of super-efficiency in data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 32-41, November.
    21. Cong Minh Huynh & Hoai Nam Tran, 2021. "Moderating effects of corruption and informality on the fiscal decentralization—economic growth nexus: Insights from OECD countries," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 355-373, June.
    22. He, Qiuqin & Guijarro-Garcia, Maria & Costa-Climent, Juan, 2022. "Impact of knowledge-based capital on firm productivity: The contingent effect of ownership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 85-94.
    23. Liu, Zheng & Shen, Hongtao & Welker, Michael & Zhang, Ning & Zhao, Yang, 2021. "Gone with the wind: An externality of earnings pressure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1).
    24. Qi, Xiulin & Wu, Zhifang & Xu, Jinqing & Shan, Biaoan, 2023. "Environmental justice and green innovation: A quasi-natural experiment based on the establishment of environmental courts in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    25. Chintrakarn, Pandej, 2008. "Environmental regulation and U.S. states' technical inefficiency," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 100(3), pages 363-365, September.
    26. Kneller, Richard & Manderson, Edward, 2012. "Environmental regulations and innovation activity in UK manufacturing industries," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 211-235.
    27. Tim Loughran & Bill Mcdonald, 2011. "When Is a Liability Not a Liability? Textual Analysis, Dictionaries, and 10‐Ks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 35-65, February.
    28. Huang, Xiaoqi & Liu, Wei & Zhang, Zhan & Zhao, Zhihui, 2022. "Intensive judicial oversight and corporate green innovations: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    29. Lei Xie & Lu Xu, 2022. "Environmental Public Interest Litigation in China: Findings from 570 Court Cases Brought by NGOs, Public Prosecutors and Local Government," Journal of Environmental Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(1), pages 53-81.
    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. Guang Chen & Akira Hibiki, 2022. "Can the Carbon Emission Trading Scheme Influence Industrial Green Production in China?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-22, November.
    2. Wang, Yan & Shen, Neng, 2016. "Environmental regulation and environmental productivity: The case of China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 758-766.
    3. Yuan, Huaxi & Zou, Longhui & Feng, Yidai, 2023. "How to achieve emission reduction without hindering economic growth? The role of judicial quality," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    4. Zhou, Peng & Huang, Xiaoqi & Song, Frank M., 2024. "The deterrent effect of environmental judicature on firms' pollution emissions: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. Yanwei Lyu & Jinning Zhang & Fei Yang & Di Wu, 2022. "The “Local Neighborhood” Effect of Environmental Regulation on Green Innovation Efficiency: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-20, August.
    6. Gao, Weiyan & Wang, Yuzhang & Wang, Fengrong & Mbanyele, William, 2024. "Do environmental courts break collusion in environmental governance? Evidence from corporate green innovation in China," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 133-149.
    7. Andong Liu & Xuesong Gu, 2020. "Environmental Regulation, Technological Progress and Corporate Profit: Empirical Research Based on the Threshold Panel Regression," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    8. Lv, Chengchao & Shao, Changhua & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2021. "Green technology innovation and financial development: Do environmental regulation and innovation output matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Misato Sato, 2017. "The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Competitiveness," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(2), pages 183-206.
    10. Erik Hille & Patrick Möbius, 2019. "Environmental Policy, Innovation, and Productivity Growth: Controlling the Effects of Regulation and Endogeneity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(4), pages 1315-1355, August.
    11. Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu & Ren, Siyu, 2020. "How do environmental regulation and environmental decentralization affect green total factor energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Chuantang Ren & Tao Wang & Yue Wang & Yizhen Zhang & Luwei Wang, 2023. "The Heterogeneous Effects of Formal and Informal Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation—An Empirical Study of 284 Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-17, January.
    13. Guo, Shu & Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2023. "Green credit policy and total factor productivity: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    14. Xing Zhao & Yifan Guo & Zhen Liu & Anteng Xiu, 2023. "Boosting green recovery: the impact of green fiscal policy on green total factor productivity," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2601-2619, August.
    15. Yanli Ji & Jie Xue & Kaiyang Zhong, 2022. "Does Environmental Regulation Promote Industrial Green Technology Progress? Empirical Evidence from China with a Heterogeneity Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-23, January.
    16. Zhang, Yijun & Li, Xiaoping & Song, Yi & Jiang, Feitao, 2021. "Can green industrial policy improve total factor productivity? Firm-level evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 51-62.
    17. Qi, Xiulin & Wu, Zhifang & Xu, Jinqing & Shan, Biaoan, 2023. "Environmental justice and green innovation: A quasi-natural experiment based on the establishment of environmental courts in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    18. Han, Chao & Li, Chongyu & Pei, Jiansuo & Wang, Chunhua, 2024. "Environmental regulation and intermediate imports: Firm-product-level evidence," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    19. Zhou, Lin & Fan, Jianshuang & Hu, Mingzhi & Yu, Xiaofen, 2024. "Clean air policy and green total factor productivity: Evidence from Chinese prefecture-level cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    20. Huang, Hongyun & Wang, Fengrong & Song, Malin & Balezentis, Tomas & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2021. "Green innovations for sustainable development of China: Analysis based on the nested spatial panel models," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental justice; Environmental courts; Corporate green transition; GTFP; Quasi-natural experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    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:kap:ecopln:v:58:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10644-024-09848-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.