Academic Seminar Series
Do Transparent Firms Generate Greener Ideas? ESG and Green Patents in China
Athanasios Andrikopoulos
University of Sussex Business School
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Abstract
Using Patent Application Data from the State Intellectual Property Office of China, we examine the relationship between ESG information disclosure and firms’ environmental innovation, using more than 3,900 listed firms from 2000-2022. Methodologically, we develop a micro-founded structural model, which maps directly to relevant empirical regressions. The model supports the validity of our identification and design. We find that firms which disclose ESG information average a 15.8% increase in green patent applications and a 21.4% increase in green patent authorizations as compared to non-disclosers. The effects are stronger for state-owned enterprises and for larger, more leveraged, and overinvesting firms. The effects are more pronounced when external monitoring is stronger, with higher analyst attention, and in sectors with historically lower pollution, consistent with capital-market disciplinary pressures and industry norms. In conclusion, the evidence strongly suggests that ESG disclosure is a substantial driver of corporate environmental innovation, which has relevant implications for regulators and financial decision-makers. This is a joint work with Panayotis G. Michaelides (NTUA), and Guanxia Xie (Guangdong University of Finance).
Thanos Andirkopoulos is an Associate Professor in Finance at the University of Sussex and Associate Fellow at the CRETA Centre, University of Warwick. Previously, he was Senior Lecturer in Finance and Undergraduate Programme Director at the University of Hull and earlier, worked at University of Birmingham and the Hellenic Ministry of Finance. His research covers international finance, banking, FinTech, applied econometrics and climate finance. His work has appeared in leading journals, including the European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Banking and Finance, and Journal of International Money and Finance. He serves as an ad hoc reviewer for major international outlets.
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