Environmental protection fee-to-tax, green innovation, and corporate green investment efficiency

Drawing on a comprehensive 13-year panel dataset (2011-2023) covering A-share listed firms from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, this research investigates how the transition from environmental fees to taxes influences corporate green investment efficiency. The analysis reveals three primary insights: First, the policy reform exerts a notably positive effect on firms' overall efficiency in green investment allocation, driving resource flows toward sustainable projects. Second, green technological innovation functions as a partial intermediary mechanism, with the policy stimulating R&D activities that subsequently enhance investment efficiency in eco-friendly initiatives. Third, significant ownership-based heterogeneity exists in policy effectiveness—while the reform demonstrates negligible impact on state-controlled enterprises' green investment efficiency, it substantially promotes efficiency improvements among privately owned firms by strengthening market-based incentives and reducing bureaucratic constraints. These findings underscore the nuanced effects of environmental regulatory reforms across different institutional contexts and highlight the critical role of ownership structure in mediating policy outcomes.