中国的金融机构应当承担环境责任吗?——基本事实、理论模型与实证检验
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摘要
中国发展迈入了新时代,绿色发展深入人心、绿色金融广受关注,党的十九大明确将防治环境污染列为"三大攻坚战"之一。如何处理好环境与发展的关系、提升经济增长质量,是未来中国经济发展的核心问题。本文从当今中国的环境污染问题出发,结合可持续增长理论、绿色金融和企业社会责任理论,提出金融机构是否应当承担环境责任的问题。本文创新性地以经济增长理论框架探讨金融机构的环境责任问题,将企业社会责任与绿色增长理论联系起来,为绿色金融的理论基础探索提供了新的思路。本文证明了金融机构信贷决策能够显著影响经济增长质量,并给出了实证证据,进而指出:发展绿色金融、合理承担环境责任是支持经济增长质量提升的重要手段,也是中国金融机构未来发展的重要方向。除了把握金融资源的行业流向外,支持清洁技术改造、实施积极的贷后管理、根据污染物类型开发针对性的绿色金融产品等,都有助于提高金融机构承担环境责任的效率。
China's growth is slowing down and its structural and environmental problems are worsening. The traditional growth model is not sustainable as it comes at too high a cost of natural resources and the environment; economic structural adjustments and industry upgrading is urgently needed. Achieving long-term sustainable and high-quality growth is the new task. Financial institutions have a large impact on the real economy through the allocation of financial resources, so green finance is important for sustainable growth. However, the current situation in China is that banks care little about the environment and a large amount of financial resources are allocated to heavy industries. The basic issue in green finance is the environmental responsibility of financial institutions. Should China's financial institutions be environmentally responsible? Our research answers these questions.Studies of green finance, environmental responsibility and sustainable growth are many, but few researchers have considered the issue of the environmental responsibility of financial institutions using sustainable growth theory. As we show, many studies of the relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth show that industrial development and technological progress are the two most important factors. Pollution in China is related to its unsound industrial structure and the misallocation of financial resources, which promotes excess capacity and hinders the adjustment of China's industrial structure. From the perspective of sustainable finance, financial institutions, because of their resource allocation role, should be responsible for the environment and sustainable growth. How can one prove that financial institutions influence sustainable growth? There is barely any research on this question. As growth quality becomes even more important than speed in China, the answer lies in the relationship between China's financial allocation of resources and the environmental cost of growth.In this study, we argue that because financial institutions have the power to influence the environmental cost of growth, they must be environmentally responsible. First, the financial resource allocation between polluting and non-polluting industries in China is investigated using listed company data following the work of Dong et al.(2019) and Wen & Liu(2019). We construct the marginal contribution using a more convincing industry classification based on industrial level waste discharge data. This allows us to analyze the causes of the allocation of financial resources. Based on the facts of financial resource allocation, we build an endogenous growth model with finance and an environment sector. This model differs from current models in that it explains how credit preferences can change the environmental cost of economic growth(pollution per GDP). When markets are perfect and information is symmetric, competition leads the financial resource allocation to the optimal level where long-term sustainable growth is possible thanks to technological progress. However, credit preferences for heavy sectors, which are caused by collateral preferences, harm the growth path and force people to choose between consumption and the environment. Although the pollution level in steady state is not necessarily higher due to environmental preferences in the utility function, the environmental cost of growth is always larger. To give empirical evidence, panel data analysis is performed on data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2015. The empirical results support our theory and lead us to the conclusion that financial institutions should bear environmental responsibility due to their influence on the environmental cost of growth. By using a sustainable growth model to study the environmental responsibility of financial institutions, we contribute to the literatures on green finance and the environmental responsibility of companies. We argue that accounting for environmental responsibility and environmental risks is not only good for growth but also good for the long-term development of banks. Making better environment risk management decisions and paying more attention to long-term sustainability is more important now than ever before for financial institutions in China.
China's growth is slowing down and its structural and environmental problems are worsening. The traditional growth model is not sustainable as it comes at too high a cost of natural resources and the environment; economic structural adjustments and industry upgrading is urgently needed. Achieving long-term sustainable and high-quality growth is the new task. Financial institutions have a large impact on the real economy through the allocation of financial resources, so green finance is important for sustainable growth. However, the current situation in China is that banks care little about the environment and a large amount of financial resources are allocated to heavy industries. The basic issue in green finance is the environmental responsibility of financial institutions. Should China's financial institutions be environmentally responsible? Our research answers these questions.Studies of green finance, environmental responsibility and sustainable growth are many, but few researchers have considered the issue of the environmental responsibility of financial institutions using sustainable growth theory. As we show, many studies of the relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth show that industrial development and technological progress are the two most important factors. Pollution in China is related to its unsound industrial structure and the misallocation of financial resources, which promotes excess capacity and hinders the adjustment of China's industrial structure. From the perspective of sustainable finance, financial institutions, because of their resource allocation role, should be responsible for the environment and sustainable growth. How can one prove that financial institutions influence sustainable growth? There is barely any research on this question. As growth quality becomes even more important than speed in China, the answer lies in the relationship between China's financial allocation of resources and the environmental cost of growth.In this study, we argue that because financial institutions have the power to influence the environmental cost of growth, they must be environmentally responsible. First, the financial resource allocation between polluting and non-polluting industries in China is investigated using listed company data following the work of Dong et al.(2019) and Wen & Liu(2019). We construct the marginal contribution using a more convincing industry classification based on industrial level waste discharge data. This allows us to analyze the causes of the allocation of financial resources. Based on the facts of financial resource allocation, we build an endogenous growth model with finance and an environment sector. This model differs from current models in that it explains how credit preferences can change the environmental cost of economic growth(pollution per GDP). When markets are perfect and information is symmetric, competition leads the financial resource allocation to the optimal level where long-term sustainable growth is possible thanks to technological progress. However, credit preferences for heavy sectors, which are caused by collateral preferences, harm the growth path and force people to choose between consumption and the environment. Although the pollution level in steady state is not necessarily higher due to environmental preferences in the utility function, the environmental cost of growth is always larger. To give empirical evidence, panel data analysis is performed on data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2015. The empirical results support our theory and lead us to the conclusion that financial institutions should bear environmental responsibility due to their influence on the environmental cost of growth. By using a sustainable growth model to study the environmental responsibility of financial institutions, we contribute to the literatures on green finance and the environmental responsibility of companies. We argue that accounting for environmental responsibility and environmental risks is not only good for growth but also good for the long-term development of banks. Making better environment risk management decisions and paying more attention to long-term sustainability is more important now than ever before for financial institutions in China.
引文
包群、邵敏、杨大利,2013:《环境管制抑制了污染排放吗?》,《经济研究》第12期。
曹光辉、汪锋、张宗益、邹畅,2006:《我国经济增长与环境污染关系研究》, 《中国人口·资源与环境》第1期。
常杪、任昊, 2011:《中国银行业环境风险控制体系构建现状分析》,《中国人口·资源与环境》 第3期。
冯科,2016:《信贷配给、固定资产投资水平与企业创新》,《中央财经大学学报》第4期。
黄茂兴、林寿富,2013:《污染损害、环境管理与经济可持续增长——基于五部门内生经济增长模型的分析》,《经济研究》第12期。
江飞涛、曹建海, 2009:《市场失灵还是体制扭曲——重复建设形成机理研究中的争论、缺陷与新进展》,《中国工业经济》第 1期。
江飞涛、耿强、吕大国、李晓萍,2012:《地区竞争、体制扭曲与产能过剩的形成机理》,《中国工业经济》第6期。
刘西顺,2006:《产能过剩、企业共生与信贷配给》,《金融研究》第3期。
马九杰、吴本健,2012:《利率浮动政策、差别定价策略与金融机构对农户的信贷配给》,《金融研究》 第4期。
马丽梅、张晓,2014:《中国雾霾污染的空间效应及经济、能源结构影响》,《中国工业经济》第4期。
彭水军、包群,2006:《经济增长与环境污染——环境库兹涅茨曲线假说的中国检验》,《财经问题研究》 第8期。
邵挺,2010:《金融错配、所有制结构与资本回报率:来自1999—2007年我国工业企业的研究》,《金融研究》第9期。
宋马林、王舒鸿,2013:《环境规制、技术进步与经济增长》,《经济研究》第3期。
王健,1997:《国有商业银行信贷配给论》,《学习与探索》第5期。
王敏、黄滢,2015:《中国的环境污染与经济增长》,《经济学 (季刊)》第2期。
文书洋、刘锡良, 2019: 《金融错配、环境污染与可持续增长》,《经济与管理研究》第3期。
翁智雄、葛察忠、段显明、龙凤,2015: 《国内外绿色金融产品对比研究》,《中国人口·资源与环境》第6期。
战明华、王晓君、应诚炜,2013:《利率控制、银行信贷配给行为变异与上市公司的融资约束》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期。
张杰,2015: 《基于产业政策视角的中国产能过剩形成与化解研究》,《经济问题探索》第2期。
周黎安, 2004:《晋升博弈中政府官员的激励与合作——兼论我国地方保护主义和重复建设问题长期存在的原因》,《经济研究》第6期。
Acemoglu, D., 2009, Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Princeton University Press.
Andreoni,J.,and A.Levinson,2001,“The Simple Analytics of the Environmental Kuznets Curve”, Journal of Public Economics,80(2), 269—286.
Berger, A. N., I.Hasan, and M.Zhou, 2009, “Bank Ownership and Efficiency in China: What Will Happen in the World's Largest Nation?”,Journal of Banking and Finance,33(1), 113—130.
Bovenberg, A.L.,and S.Smulders, 1995,“Environmental Quality and Pollution-augmenting Technological Change in a Two-sector Endogenous Growth Model”,Journal of Public Economics,57(3), 369—391.
Bowen, H. R., and F. E.Johnson, 1953, Social Responsibility of the Businessman. Harper.
Boyreau-Debray, G., and S.J.Wei, 2005, “Pitfalls of a State-dominated Financial System: The Case of China”, NBER Working Paper No.11214
Brock, W. A.,and M. S.Taylor, 2010,“The Green Solow model”,Journal of Economic Growth,15(2), 127—153.
Chang, C.,K.Chen,D. F.Waggoner, and T.Zha, 2015,“Trends and Cycles in China's Macroeconomy”,Emory Economics, 30 (1),1—84.
Dong, Q. M., S. Y.Wen, and X. L.Liu, 2019, “Credit Allocation, Pollution, and Sustainable Growth: Theory and Evidence from China”, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Published Online.
Chang, T.H., and J.K.Peter, 2009, “Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(4), 1403—1448
Dasgupta, P.,and G. M.Heal, 1985,“Economic Theory and Exhaustible Resources”,Canadian Journal of Economics/revue Canadienne D'economique,14(2),399—404.
Dasgupta,P.,and G.Heal,1974,“The Optimal Depletion of Exhaustible Resources”, Review of Economic Studies,41(5), 3—28.
García-Herrero, A.,S.Gavilá,and D.Santabárbara, 2009,“What Explains the Low Profitability of Chinese Banks?”,Journal of Banking and Finance,33(11), 2080—2092.
Grossman, G. M.,and A.B.Krueger, 1995,“Economic Growth and the Environment”,Quarterly Journal of Economics,110(2),353—377.
Harvey, B.,1995,“Ethical Banking: The Case of the Co-operative Bank”,Journal of Business Ethics,14(12), 1005—1013.
Hilton, F. G. H.,and A.Levinson, 1998,“Factoring the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Evidence from Automotive Lead Emissions”,Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,35(2),126—141.
John, A.,and R.Pecchenino, 1994,“An Overlapping Generations Model of Growth and the Environment”,Economic Journal,104(427),1393—1410.
La Porta, R.,F.Lopez-de-Silanes,and A.Shleifer, 2002,“Government Ownership of Banks”,Journal of Finance,57(1), 265—301.
Prieur, F., and T.Bréchet, 2013, “Can Education be Good for both Growth and the Environment?”, Macroeconomic Dynamics, 17(5),1135—1157.
Romer, P.M., 1986,“Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth”,Journal of Political Economy,94(5),1002—1037.
Salzmann, A. J.,2013,“The Integration of Sustainability into the Theory and Practice of Finance: An Overview of the State of the Art and Outline of Future Developments”,Journal of Business Economics,83(6), 555—576.
Selden, T. M., and D.Song, 1995,“Neoclassical Growth,the J Curve for Abatement,and the Inverted U Curve for Pollution”,Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,29(2), 162—168.
Taylor,B. M. S., and W.Brock,2012,“Economic Growth and the Environment: A Review of Theory and Empirics”,National Bureau of Economic Research,Inc. Vol.1,1749—1821.
Weber, O., and R.W.Scholz, 2010,“Michalik G. Incorporating Sustainability into Credit Management”,Business Strategy and the Environment,19(1), 39—50.
Xavier, F., and J.C.Rochet, 1997, Microeconomics of Banking, MIT Press.
(1)2004年“旧国九条”颁布,2014年“新国九条”颁布,选择这一样本区间是为了在制度层面上尽量保证资本市场数据对总体的反映程度的稳定性。
曹光辉、汪锋、张宗益、邹畅,2006:《我国经济增长与环境污染关系研究》, 《中国人口·资源与环境》第1期。
常杪、任昊, 2011:《中国银行业环境风险控制体系构建现状分析》,《中国人口·资源与环境》 第3期。
冯科,2016:《信贷配给、固定资产投资水平与企业创新》,《中央财经大学学报》第4期。
黄茂兴、林寿富,2013:《污染损害、环境管理与经济可持续增长——基于五部门内生经济增长模型的分析》,《经济研究》第12期。
江飞涛、曹建海, 2009:《市场失灵还是体制扭曲——重复建设形成机理研究中的争论、缺陷与新进展》,《中国工业经济》第 1期。
江飞涛、耿强、吕大国、李晓萍,2012:《地区竞争、体制扭曲与产能过剩的形成机理》,《中国工业经济》第6期。
刘西顺,2006:《产能过剩、企业共生与信贷配给》,《金融研究》第3期。
马九杰、吴本健,2012:《利率浮动政策、差别定价策略与金融机构对农户的信贷配给》,《金融研究》 第4期。
马丽梅、张晓,2014:《中国雾霾污染的空间效应及经济、能源结构影响》,《中国工业经济》第4期。
彭水军、包群,2006:《经济增长与环境污染——环境库兹涅茨曲线假说的中国检验》,《财经问题研究》 第8期。
邵挺,2010:《金融错配、所有制结构与资本回报率:来自1999—2007年我国工业企业的研究》,《金融研究》第9期。
宋马林、王舒鸿,2013:《环境规制、技术进步与经济增长》,《经济研究》第3期。
王健,1997:《国有商业银行信贷配给论》,《学习与探索》第5期。
王敏、黄滢,2015:《中国的环境污染与经济增长》,《经济学 (季刊)》第2期。
文书洋、刘锡良, 2019: 《金融错配、环境污染与可持续增长》,《经济与管理研究》第3期。
翁智雄、葛察忠、段显明、龙凤,2015: 《国内外绿色金融产品对比研究》,《中国人口·资源与环境》第6期。
战明华、王晓君、应诚炜,2013:《利率控制、银行信贷配给行为变异与上市公司的融资约束》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期。
张杰,2015: 《基于产业政策视角的中国产能过剩形成与化解研究》,《经济问题探索》第2期。
周黎安, 2004:《晋升博弈中政府官员的激励与合作——兼论我国地方保护主义和重复建设问题长期存在的原因》,《经济研究》第6期。
Acemoglu, D., 2009, Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Princeton University Press.
Andreoni,J.,and A.Levinson,2001,“The Simple Analytics of the Environmental Kuznets Curve”, Journal of Public Economics,80(2), 269—286.
Berger, A. N., I.Hasan, and M.Zhou, 2009, “Bank Ownership and Efficiency in China: What Will Happen in the World's Largest Nation?”,Journal of Banking and Finance,33(1), 113—130.
Bovenberg, A.L.,and S.Smulders, 1995,“Environmental Quality and Pollution-augmenting Technological Change in a Two-sector Endogenous Growth Model”,Journal of Public Economics,57(3), 369—391.
Bowen, H. R., and F. E.Johnson, 1953, Social Responsibility of the Businessman. Harper.
Boyreau-Debray, G., and S.J.Wei, 2005, “Pitfalls of a State-dominated Financial System: The Case of China”, NBER Working Paper No.11214
Brock, W. A.,and M. S.Taylor, 2010,“The Green Solow model”,Journal of Economic Growth,15(2), 127—153.
Chang, C.,K.Chen,D. F.Waggoner, and T.Zha, 2015,“Trends and Cycles in China's Macroeconomy”,Emory Economics, 30 (1),1—84.
Dong, Q. M., S. Y.Wen, and X. L.Liu, 2019, “Credit Allocation, Pollution, and Sustainable Growth: Theory and Evidence from China”, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Published Online.
Chang, T.H., and J.K.Peter, 2009, “Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(4), 1403—1448
Dasgupta, P.,and G. M.Heal, 1985,“Economic Theory and Exhaustible Resources”,Canadian Journal of Economics/revue Canadienne D'economique,14(2),399—404.
Dasgupta,P.,and G.Heal,1974,“The Optimal Depletion of Exhaustible Resources”, Review of Economic Studies,41(5), 3—28.
García-Herrero, A.,S.Gavilá,and D.Santabárbara, 2009,“What Explains the Low Profitability of Chinese Banks?”,Journal of Banking and Finance,33(11), 2080—2092.
Grossman, G. M.,and A.B.Krueger, 1995,“Economic Growth and the Environment”,Quarterly Journal of Economics,110(2),353—377.
Harvey, B.,1995,“Ethical Banking: The Case of the Co-operative Bank”,Journal of Business Ethics,14(12), 1005—1013.
Hilton, F. G. H.,and A.Levinson, 1998,“Factoring the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Evidence from Automotive Lead Emissions”,Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,35(2),126—141.
John, A.,and R.Pecchenino, 1994,“An Overlapping Generations Model of Growth and the Environment”,Economic Journal,104(427),1393—1410.
La Porta, R.,F.Lopez-de-Silanes,and A.Shleifer, 2002,“Government Ownership of Banks”,Journal of Finance,57(1), 265—301.
Prieur, F., and T.Bréchet, 2013, “Can Education be Good for both Growth and the Environment?”, Macroeconomic Dynamics, 17(5),1135—1157.
Romer, P.M., 1986,“Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth”,Journal of Political Economy,94(5),1002—1037.
Salzmann, A. J.,2013,“The Integration of Sustainability into the Theory and Practice of Finance: An Overview of the State of the Art and Outline of Future Developments”,Journal of Business Economics,83(6), 555—576.
Selden, T. M., and D.Song, 1995,“Neoclassical Growth,the J Curve for Abatement,and the Inverted U Curve for Pollution”,Journal of Environmental Economics and Management,29(2), 162—168.
Taylor,B. M. S., and W.Brock,2012,“Economic Growth and the Environment: A Review of Theory and Empirics”,National Bureau of Economic Research,Inc. Vol.1,1749—1821.
Weber, O., and R.W.Scholz, 2010,“Michalik G. Incorporating Sustainability into Credit Management”,Business Strategy and the Environment,19(1), 39—50.
Xavier, F., and J.C.Rochet, 1997, Microeconomics of Banking, MIT Press.
(1)2004年“旧国九条”颁布,2014年“新国九条”颁布,选择这一样本区间是为了在制度层面上尽量保证资本市场数据对总体的反映程度的稳定性。