In recent years, the Audit Pilot of Natural Resources Assets (APNRA) pilot program has been implemented by the Chinese government to strengthen the protection of natural resources and the ecological environment. Based on the APNRA pilot program, we use the multi-period differences–in–differences model to investigate the response of corporate environmental responsibility to external governance pressure. We find that firms significantly improve their environmental investment and performance after the implementation of the APNRA pilot program. Sewage charges (including green fees) and ecological (...) protection incentives constitute the two main channels that explain the positive relationship. We further find that the impact of the program on corporate environmental investment and performance is more pronounced for firms in regions with poor environmental quality, and for firms in heavy-polluting industries. This paper introduces the role of government governance in generating positive externality for firms and provides a valuable understanding of environmental governance in an emerging market. (shrink)

With the fast expansion of urbanization, temporary migrants have become a large demographic in Chinese cities. Therefore, in order to enhance the social integration of the migrant population, scholars and policymakers have an urgency to investigate the influencing factors of the integration progress. Prior studies regarding social integration have neglected to examine this topic from the perspective of social participation. Empirical research is conducted based on the data of 15,997 migrants across eight cities in the 2014 wave of National Migrant (...) Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey in China. Hierarchical linear models were used to test the hypotheses regarding the impacts of formal social participation and informal social participation on social integration. Community type, neighbor composition, hometown pressure, withdrawal guarantee, and constraints of hukou were examined as moderators. FSP and ISP possess different features such as operating with distinct modes, providing different services. Members within the organizations also entail different rights and responsibilities, providing them with different types of social capital and psychological perceptions. Hence, this study strived to identify the effects of social participation behaviors on social integration from a social capital perspective. The results revealed that social participation is positively linked to social integration. We also distinguished between FSP and ISP of migrants to investigate the boundary effects of different types of social participation on social integration. The findings provide both theoretical and practical implications for scholars as well as policymakers on issues regarding the social integration of migrants. (shrink)