Topic: Financial Constraints and Corporate Environmental Policies

Speaker: Qiping Xu, Assistant Professor of Finance, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame

Date: December 27th (Wednesday)

Time: 10:00-11:30am

Location: Building 4, Room 101

Language: English

Abstract:

We show that financial constraints affect corporate environmental policies because of significant abatement costs associated with hazardous waste management. Exploiting two experiments in which a firm’s external financing constraints are likely exogenously impacted, we find that relaxation (or tightening) of external financing constraints reduces (or increases) the firm’s toxics release. The impact of financial constraints on toxics releases is amplified by weaker regulatory monitoring and enforcement, by myopic managers with short horizons, and when firms are under pressure to meet earnings targets. Overall, our evidence highlights the real effects of financial frictions in the form of environmental pollution.  

About the speaker:

Qiping Xu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame. She received her Ph.D. in Finance from University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, her M.A. in Economics, M.A. in Statistics from Ohio State University and her B.A. in Finance from Zhejiang University. Her research interests focus on Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, Financial Intermediaries.