This study examines the impact of non-executive employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) on corporate environmental engagement. We show that granting ESOPs to non-executive employees promotes greater corporate ecological engagement from the perspectives of environmental protection expenditures,...

Government facing fiscal pressures is a prevalent phenomenon worldwide. This study investigates how governments’ fiscal squeeze shapes non-listed firms’ privatization. To establish causality, we exploit a policy shock in China, the cancellation of agricultural tax, to document that the...

This study investigates the effect of trade tariff shock on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Firms increase CSR activities in response to the 2018–2019 shock of the US–China trade war. Results are robust when using alternative control groups and excluding firms that experienced changes...