The Divergence of ESG Ratings and Corporate Financing Constraints in China

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_89How to use a DOI?

Keywords

ESG Rating Divergence; Financing Constraints; Information Transparency; Economic Uncertainty

Abstract

This paper examines how divergence in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings affects corporate financing constraints, employing a panel of A share listed firms in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing from 2015 to 2024. The analysis shows that greater divergence in ESG ratings significantly tightens firms’ financing constraints. Heterogeneous effects emerge across ownership types and high technology status. Information transparency exerts a masking effect on the relationship between ESG rating divergence and financing constraints, indicating the coexistence of two competing channels, namely information friction and adaptation through alternative financing. Moreover, heightened economic policy uncertainty attenuates the positive relationship between ESG rating divergence and financing constraints, suggesting that under greater macroeconomic uncertainty lenders shift attention to aggregate conditions and become less sensitive to firm level ESG rating disagreement. These findings provide microeconomic evidence on the consequences of ESG rating divergence and clarify the structural boundaries and macro contextual dependence of its impact on corporate financing.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Zhuangtong Fu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
TI  - The Divergence of ESG Ratings and Corporate Financing Constraints in China
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 877
EP  - 890
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_89
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_89
ID  - Fu2026
ER  -