A Study on the Deterrent Effect of Short Selling Mechanism on Financial Fraud of Listed Companies—Taking Short Selling of Luckin Coffee by Muddy Waters as an Example

本文以浑水做空瑞幸事件为案例，从企业外部视角，分析了股票市场的做空机制对于上市公司财务舞弊的抑制效应。研究发现，做空机制在实际操作过程中，由于其对上市公司带来的影响巨大，对上市公司具有一定威慑力，在抑制上市公司财务舞弊行为方面可以发挥积极作用，对市场健康发展具有重要意义。针对当下应用做空机制面临的挑战，为保障做空机制充分发挥作用，并且降低实际应用的风险，本文提出了一些政策建议，从而帮助我国进一步规范上市公司的信息披露行为。This paper takes the short selling of Luckin Coffee by Muddy Waters as a case study and analyzes the deterrent effect of the short selling mechanism on financial fraud of listed companies from the perspective of the external stock market. The research finds that the short selling mechanism, due to its significant impact on listed companies, exerts a certain deterrent effect and can play a positive role in curbing financial fraud. It is of great significance to the healthy development of the market. Furthermore, this paper examines the challenges faced in the application of the short selling mechanism and proposes policy recommendations to ensure its full effectiveness and reduce risks in practice, thereby helping to further regulate the information disclosure practices of listed companies in China.