This study examines the effects of environmental policy stringency on corporate leverage and speed of adjustment across 39 countries from 1994 to 2020. The primary empirical findings illustrate that environmental policy stringency is negatively related to leverage and leverage adjustment speed. Such effects are prominent for firms with financial constraints, in countries with significant climate-risk exposure and corruption, or in Asia. Based on our main findings, when policymakers implement environmental policies, corporate decisions regarding leverage and debt financing should be taken into account, as these policies can discourage firms from increasing leverage and slow down the speed of adjustment toward optimal leverage.

中文翻译：

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企业杠杆率和杠杆率调整速度：环保政策严格重要吗？

本研究考察了1994年至2020年39个国家环境政策严格程度对企业杠杆率和调整速度的影响。主要实证结果表明，环境政策严格程度与杠杆率和杠杆调整速度负相关。对于财务拮据的公司、气候风险暴露和腐败严重的国家或亚洲的公司来说，这种影响尤为突出。根据我们的主要发现，政策制定者在实施环境政策时，应考虑企业有关杠杆和债务融资的决策，因为这些政策可能会阻碍企业提高杠杆率，并减缓向最佳杠杆​​率调整的速度。