Environmentally-Inclined Politicians and Local Environmental Performance: Evidence from Publicly Listed Firms in China

Abstract

We study how environmentally-inclined politicians (EIPs), i.e., politicians with prior environment-related working experience, affect local environmental performance in China. Firms located in cities with EIPs have lower levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. The effect is attenuated when the politician is in his/her second term and among firms that are economically important. Firms in cities with EIPs commit less environmental violations, receive more green subsidies from the local government, and choose to establish new polluting subsidiaries in cities without EIPs. Furthermore, these EIPs do not have inferior economic performance and their promotion likelihood is negatively related to local emission levels. The findings overall suggest that local officials strategically leverage their expertise in environment protection to allocate more effort on environmental causes.