Green credit is a major policy innovation to guide enterprises to participate in environmental governance actively. This study uses the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2016, takes the green credit guideline (GCG) issued in 2012 as a quasi-natural experiment, and uses a difference in difference (DID) model to test the effect of GCG on the enterprises' export green-sophistication (EGS) and its internal and external mechanisms. The study finds that GCG improves enterprises' EGS and research and development (R&D) investment is the intermediation channel for GCG to affect EGS. Results of heterogeneity analysis show that the role of GCG in promoting EGS is significantly reflected in enterprises that the government does not subsidize, enterprises in areas with a low degree of financial marketization development, state-owned enterprises, and enterprises with a high degree of equity incentive.
Keywords: Difference in difference; Export green-sophistication; Green credit guideline; Research and development investment.
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