Targeted Poverty Alleviation and Analyst Attention

ABSTRACT Using a sample of 12,131 firm‐year observations of China's A‐share market (2016–2021), this study investigates how targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) affects analysts' attention to the signalling theory perspective. We find that corporate TPA participation significantly increases analyst coverage. The effect is more pronounced in firms with higher information processing costs, more severe agency problems and continuous poverty alleviation plans. Further analysis uncovers that firm‐level TPA disclosure enhances analyst coverage by improving information transparency and social reputation, which in turn leads to higher analyst forecast accuracy and reduced forecast dispersion. Our study provides empirical evidence that supports the value of TPA information for stakeholders, including analysts.