Regional environmental supervision and corporate environmental investment: from the perspective of ecological damage compensation

On the basis of the “Pilot System of the Ecological Damage Compensation” launched in 2015 and a research sample of listed companies in China’s heavy pollution industry from 2014 to 2017, this paper uses a difference-in-differences model to empirically evaluate the impact of the damage compensation system on corporate environmental investment, as well as the moderating effect of market degree and firm ownership. The result shows that the implementation of the damage compensation system significantly promotes corporate environmental investment and that the market degree exerts a moderating effect. The effect of supervision remains the same because of firm ownership. This research uses a pilot policy to form a natural experimental group to accurately identify the impact of environmental supervision on corporate environmental investment. The aforementioned conclusions recognize the need for the construction of the ecological damage compensation system, provide a reference for the national government to formulate specific effective environmental policies, stimulate the environmental governance motivation of regional governments, and encourage enterprises to assume environmental responsibilities and thereby achieve green sustainable development.