Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance and Corporate Performance: Evidence from China in the Perspective of Green Development

Abstract

Environmental pollution is an inevitable primary responsibility in the production and management of enterprises, and it is the most severe challenge to achieving green production and sustainable development. Environmental pollution liability insurance (EPLI) can transfer corporate pollution liability to insurance companies, which affects corporate performance to a certain extent. However, the influencing factors of enterprise performance are complex, and EPLI also involves multiple subjects, so the impact of EPLI on enterprise performance is also complex. At first, this paper analyzes the possible relationship between EPLI and corporate performance based on the existing literature; subsequently, based on the list of EPLI-insured companies in 2014 and 2015 published by China’s environmental protection department as a sample, this paper uses a fixed-effects model to conduct an empirical analysis, and the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) was then examined; finally, heterogeneity analysis of the initial conclusions was conducted. The following conclusions are drawn: firstly, there is a significant negative correlation between EPLI and corporate performance. Secondly, CSR played a mediating role in the effect of EPLI on corporate performance; that is, EPLI inhibited the rise of corporate performance by affecting CSR. Thirdly, the impact of EPLI on corporate performance is heterogeneous in terms of equity nature, corporate pollution level and marketization degree. The results of this paper enrich the economic impact theory of EPLI and have specific practical value for enterprise management and policymakers in the background of the green economy.