Does Public Environmental Attention Improve Green Investment Efficiency?—Based on the Perspective of Environmental Regulation and Environmental Responsibility

Abstract

Will public attention to the environment affect the green behavior of enterprises? This paper collected the panel data of steel enterprises in China from 2009 to 2017, evaluated the green investment efficiency by the measurement of the slack model (SBM) and the “super efficiency” (DEA) model, and studied the impact of public environmental attention on green investment efficiency. Firstly, public environmental attention has significantly promoted enterprise green investment efficiency; Secondly, the business environment has significantly promoted enterprise green investment efficiency, and the influence of public environmental attention on enterprise green investment efficiency is positively regulated by the business environment; Thirdly, the influence mechanism of public environmental attention on the promotion of green investment efficiency comprises environmental regulation and environmental responsibility; Fourthly, public environmental attention has a heterogeneous effect on the promotion of enterprise green investment efficiency. The promotion of public environmental attention on green investment efficiency is more significant for large enterprises than medium-sized enterprises. The effect of the promotion of public environmental attention on green investment efficiency is more significant for state-owned enterprises than private enterprises. The promotion of public environmental attention on green investment efficiency is more significant in eastern China than in central and western China.