Does environmental information disclosure increase firm exports?

This paper examines the impact of environmental information disclosure on firm exports using Chinese manufacturing data from 2000 to 2013 and a difference-in-difference-in-differences model. We find evidence of a positive and statistically significant impact of environmental information disclosure on firm export value and export intensity in cleaner production industries of cities with higher environmental information disclosure. The positive effect is more profound when environmental regulation intensity is high and for low-tech industries and non-state-owned enterprises. In addition, mechanism analysis reveals that the increased probability of firm exports is driven by increased social trust and reduced cost effect.