Abstract
The socioeconomic impacts of infrastructure investment are worth examining in both academic and practical areas. Regarding Chinese high-speed railway construction, the existing literature mainly focuses on the macro-economic level consequences of high-speed railway openings, leaving the micro-economic level impacts commonly untested. Using archival data of Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2018 and the difference-in-difference (DID) approach, this paper examines the influential effect of Chinese high-speed railway openings on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Empirical results show that high-speed railway openings can significantly improve Chinese listed companies’ CSR performance, and this positive effect is more salient when companies are experiencing lower information transparency. Mediating effect tests illustrate that the increased investor site visits caused by high-speed railway openings are one internal mechanism behind the main connection. Overall, from a micro-level perspective, this article provides additional evidence on the socioeconomic impact of transportation infrastructure investments.
Highlights
We find that: First, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of Chinese A-share listed companies can be improved after company headquarters experience high-speed railway openings in the sample period
68% of firm-year data are gathered after high-speed trains are reachable in each company’s headquarter city
The positive effect is more salient in companies with a poor information environment, indicating that high-speed railway openings can improve information flows and companies’ information transparency, further leading to better CSR performance
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Investment in transportation infrastructure has long been an essential way for the government to regulate economic development when the macro-economy is facing great uncertainties. In dealing with the global financial crisis in 2008, the Chinese central government initiated the “Four-trillion Yuan” plan to stimulate economic growth. Among the various investment areas, construction of railways, highways, and airports occupied the largest part. Under these circumstances, Chinese high-speed railways experienced their first large-scale rapid development. According to statistics from China State Railway Group
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