The Impact of Government Subsidies on the Environmental Performance of Agricultural Enterprises

Facing the pressure of green transformation, studying the relationship between government subsidies and the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises has significant theoretical value and practical significance for achieving sustainable agricultural development. Based on the micro data of 283 A-share listed agricultural enterprises in China from 2013 to 2023, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of government subsidies on the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises and its mechanism. The results show that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between government subsidies and the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises, that is, when the government subsidies are within a certain scale, increasing government subsidies will have a positive impact on the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises. When the government subsidy reaches a certain scale, increasing the government subsidy will have a negative impact on the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises. External media attention (EMA) and internal control level (IC) play mediating roles in the impact of government subsidies on the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis showed that for different types of subsidies, R&D subsidies and environmental protection subsidies had an inverted U-shaped impact on the environmental performance of agricultural enterprises. This study provides useful implications for improving methods of issuing government subsidies and enhancing the driving force of agricultural enterprises to carry out sustainable development actions.