IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ecogov/v26y2025i2d10.1007_s10101-025-00329-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Anti-corruption and firm-level green total factor productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Zhe Zhao

    (Liaoning University)

  • Yi Zhang

    (Jilin University)

  • Tao Huang

    (Liaoning University)

  • Zeyu Sun

    (Zhongguancun development group Limited by Share Ltd)

  • Shuang Liu

    (Liaoning University)

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of anti-corruption measures on green total factor productivity (GTFP) at the firm level in China. Analyzing a sample of Chinese A-share companies from 2003 to 2016, we present robust evidence that anti-corruption initiatives significantly enhance GTFP at the micro level, which remains credible after experiencing several robustness tests. Meanwhile, our results also reveal that this positive effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, firms in the mature phase of their life cycle, and those operating within highly competitive industries. In addition, our results still exist after excluding endogeneity. Finally, we propose that alleviating financial constraints may serve as a plausible mechanism through which anti-corruption fosters improvements in firm-level GTFP, as the enforcement of anti-corruption can reduce bribes and enable companies to reallocate financial resources toward initiatives such as environmental protection and sustainability. Overall, this research contributes valuable insights into the tangible effects of anti-corruption and its role in influencing the determinants of GTFP.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhe Zhao & Yi Zhang & Tao Huang & Zeyu Sun & Shuang Liu, 2025. "Anti-corruption and firm-level green total factor productivity," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 243-270, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ecogov:v:26:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s10101-025-00329-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10101-025-00329-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10101-025-00329-z
    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/s10101-025-00329-z?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. 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).
    2. 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).
    3. Wenjing Li & Ran Zhang, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Ownership Structure, and Political Interference: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(4), pages 631-645, November.
    4. Xu, Gang & Yano, Go, 2017. "How does anti-corruption affect corporate innovation? Evidence from recent anti-corruption efforts in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 498-519.
    5. Jian Zhang, 2018. "Public Governance and Corporate Fraud: Evidence from the Recent Anti-corruption Campaign in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 375-396, March.
    6. Li, Jianqiang & Shan, Yaowen & Tian, Gary & Hao, Xiangchao, 2020. "Labor cost, government intervention, and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Chang, Xin & Chen, Yangyang & Wang, Sarah Qian & Zhang, Kuo & Zhang, Wenrui, 2019. "Credit default swaps and corporate innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 474-500.
    8. Chen, Yunsen & Xie, Yuan & You, Hong & Zhang, Yanan, 2018. "Does crackdown on corruption reduce stock price crash risk? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 125-141.
    9. Wei Zhou & Min Jiang & Jiani Zong, 2023. "Can anti-corruption reforms ease corporate financing constraints?—Empirical evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 1477-1493, November.
    10. Zhan, Yunqiu & Wang, Wei & Ren, Yuheng, 2024. "Inspection supervision and corporate green total factor productivity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    11. Hu, Juncheng & Li, Xiaorong & Duncan, Keith & Xu, Jia, 2020. "Corporate relationship spending and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China's anti-corruption campaign," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    12. Jiang, Yufan & Wang, Hongyan & Liu, Zuankuo, 2021. "The impact of the free trade zone on green total factor productivity ——evidence from the shanghai pilot free trade zone," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    13. Piret TONURIST & Erkki KARO, 2016. "State Owned Enterprises As Instruments Of Innovation Policy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(4), pages 623-648, December.
    14. Ge, Shilong & Luo, Xiaodan & Li, Yuangang & Zheng, Lanxing, 2024. "The impact of green credit policy on total factor productivity of enterprises," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    15. Cao, Peng & Qin, Lu & Zhu, Hongquan, 2019. "Local corruption and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 240-252.
    16. Wang, Fangjun & Xu, Luying & Zhang, Junrui & Shu, Wei, 2018. "Political connections, internal control and firm value: Evidence from China's anti-corruption campaign," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 53-67.
    17. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    18. Wang, Pei & Xue, Weixian & Wang, Zhuan, 2024. "Fog and haze control and enterprise green total factor productivity - evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    19. Fang, Chuandi & Cheng, Jinhua & Zhu, Yongguang & Chen, Jiahao & Peng, Xinjie, 2021. "Green total factor productivity of extractive industries in China: An explanation from technology heterogeneity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    20. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    21. Tian, Ni & Zhang, Zongyi, 2018. "How do anticorruption measures affect executive incentive?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 179-185.
    22. Zhang, Zhaoting & Zhang, Lei, 2024. "Government green procurement policies and corporate green total factor productivity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    23. Chen, Zhenling & Li, Jinkai & Zhao, Weigang & Yuan, Xiao-Chen & Yang, Guo-liang, 2019. "Undesirable and desirable energy congestion measurements for regional coal-fired power generation industry in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 122-134.
    24. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2020. "Corruption and corporate cash holdings: international evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    25. (Grace) Qing Hao & Keming Li, 2016. "The Bright Side of Discretionary Accruals: Evidence from Finance and Innovation," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 22(4), pages 540-575, September.
    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. Nie, Cong & Zhang, Xueren & Yang, Yue, 2024. "Anti-corruption campaign and SOEs innovation: The role of the central inspection group in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    2. Boubaker, Sabri & Liu, Pei-Zhi & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Ma, Chao-Qun, 2024. "Do anti-corruption campaigns affect corporate environmental responsibility? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Cheng, Maoyong & Geng, Hongyan, 2021. "Do local firms employ political activities to respond to political uncertainty?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Zhao, Renjie & Chen, Jie & Feng, Chen & Zhong, Shihu, 2020. "The impact of anti-corruption measures on land supply and the associated implications: The case of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Shenghui Tong, 2022. "Corruption and anti‐corruption in China: a review and future research agenda," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 36(1), pages 3-16, May.
    6. He, Chao & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2024. "Political connections, corruption, and investment decisions of Chinese mutual funds," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    7. Li, Guangzi & Chan, Kam C., 2021. "Anti-corruption intensity and loan contracting: Evidence from non-state owned firms in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    8. Jiafu An & Seth Armitage & Wenxuan Hou & Xianda Liu, 2020. "Do checks on bureaucrats improve firm value? Evidence from a natural experiment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4821-4844, December.
    9. Liu, Yi & Wu, Kai & Liang, Xiaoyun, 2024. "Does low-carbon pilot policy promote corporate green total factor productivity?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1-24.
    10. Hanming Fang & Jing Wu & Rongjie Zhang & Li-An Zhou, 2022. "Anti-Corruption Campaign and the Resurgence of the SOEs in China:Evidence from the Real Estate Sector," PIER Working Paper Archive 22-020, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    11. Yiyuan Ma & Youzhi Xiao, 2022. "The Substitution Effect of Chinese Anti-Corruption “Alcohol Ban”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-13, June.
    12. Li, Zhenjun & Cheng, Maoyong, 2024. "The impacts of anti-organized crime on asset prices: Evidence from China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(3).
    13. Cai, Weixing & Hu, Feng & Xu, Fangming & Zheng, Liyi, 2022. "Anti-corruption campaign and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    14. Ahmed, Walid M.A., 2020. "Corruption and equity market performance: International comparative evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    15. Xue, Fei & Chen, Qinyuan & Chan, Kam C. & Yi, Zhihong, 2022. "Is corporate social responsibility value relevant? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment of anti-corruption campaign," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 520-532.
    16. Anh‐Tuan Doan & Bich‐Thanh Truong & Chi‐Cuong Nguyen & Phan‐Tam‐Nhu Nguyen & Hai‐Yen Truong & Anh‐Tuan Le, 2023. "Corruption and corporate leverage in an emerging economy: The role of economic freedom," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(2), pages 599-629, June.
    17. Huang, Hua & Tao, Yunqing & Wang, Xueping & Feng, Chen & Ye, Yongwei, 2023. "Do board reforms in parent firms boost subsidiaries’ innovation?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    18. Xu, Xiangbing & Dong, Nanyan & Wu, Chengzhang & Luo, Sicheng, 2025. "The employment effects of anticorruption: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    19. Liu, Xutang & Young, Martin & Liao, Jing, 2024. "CEO early-life experience and corporate accounting conservatism: Insights from the socio-political context," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Dokas, Ioannis & Panagiotidis, Minas & Papadamou, Stephanos & Spyromitros, Eleftherios, 2023. "Does innovation affect the impact of corruption on economic growth? International evidence," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1030-1054.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption

    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:spr:ecogov:v:26:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s10101-025-00329-z. 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.