TY - JOUR
T1 - Robot adoption and corporate pollution emissions
T2 - Evidence from China
AU - Xu, Rui
AU - Zhang, Hao
AU - Han, Minghui
AU - Yang, Leo Yang
N1 - We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of Guangzhou (project 2023GZGJ58), the 2024 Guangdong Provincial Universities Characteristic Innovation Project (project 2024KTSCX179) and the financial support from Foundation of Guangdong Financial Society (project JCKT202308).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - This study examines whether and how industrial robot adoption affects corporate pollution emissions. Using a sample of 163,301 firm-year observations from the Chinese industrial enterprises for the period 2004–2014, we find that firm's robot adoption is positively related to pollution emissions reduction. Further mechanism tests show that the adoption of robots in production can improve a firm's productivity and alleviate a firm's financial constraint, thereby increasing the firm's pollution emissions reduction. In addition, we find that the above-mentioned effect of robot adoption on a firm's pollution emissions reduction is more pronounced for firms headquartered in regions with strong environmental regulations, firms that are high efficiency of pollution treatment and high technology-intensive, firms that have gone public and state-owned enterprises. Altogether, this study provides the first micro evidence on the relationship between robot adoption and corporate pollution emissions, providing significant implications for the world's sustainable development.
AB - This study examines whether and how industrial robot adoption affects corporate pollution emissions. Using a sample of 163,301 firm-year observations from the Chinese industrial enterprises for the period 2004–2014, we find that firm's robot adoption is positively related to pollution emissions reduction. Further mechanism tests show that the adoption of robots in production can improve a firm's productivity and alleviate a firm's financial constraint, thereby increasing the firm's pollution emissions reduction. In addition, we find that the above-mentioned effect of robot adoption on a firm's pollution emissions reduction is more pronounced for firms headquartered in regions with strong environmental regulations, firms that are high efficiency of pollution treatment and high technology-intensive, firms that have gone public and state-owned enterprises. Altogether, this study provides the first micro evidence on the relationship between robot adoption and corporate pollution emissions, providing significant implications for the world's sustainable development.
KW - China
KW - Financial constraint
KW - Pollution emissions
KW - Productivity
KW - Robot adoption
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85212927984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102647
DO - 10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102647
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85212927984
SN - 0927-538X
VL - 90
JO - Pacific Basin Finance Journal
JF - Pacific Basin Finance Journal
M1 - 102647
ER -