Economic Policy Uncertainty and Green Innovation in Chinese Fintech Firms: The Moderating Role of Green Finance Policy

Economic Policy Uncertainty and Green Innovation in Chinese Fintech Firms: The Moderating Role of Green Finance Policy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Economic Policy Uncertainty and Green Innovation in Chinese Fintech Firms: The Moderating Role of Green Finance Policy Jun Cui This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6366330/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and green innovation in Chinese fintech firms, with a particular focus on how green finance policies moderate this relationship. Using a comprehensive panel dataset of 7,640 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2023, we find that EPU negatively impacts green innovation activities, as measured by green patents and green R&D intensity. However, the implementation of green finance policies significantly mitigates this negative effect, suggesting that supportive regulatory frameworks can buffer firms against policy uncertainty. Our findings provide novel insights into the interplay between macroeconomic uncertainty, regulatory environment, and corporate environmental strategies in emerging economies. The results remain robust across various model specifications and alternative measures. Consequently, this findings have important implications for policymakers seeking to promote sustainable development in the financial technology sector amid economic uncertainty. Economic Policy Uncertainty Green Innovation ESG Green Finance Policy Fintech China Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6366330","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":437758980,"identity":"36f9faba-ce11-4461-80db-82ac77b1a246","order_by":0,"name":"Jun Cui","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9693-9145","institution":"solbridge international School of Business","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jun","middleName":"","lastName":"Cui","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-03 06:12:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6366330/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6366330/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":79878909,"identity":"5f8d9d2c-ad3c-430a-8696-3e860099a1a1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-04 03:23:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":272523,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ESCISamplePaperFinanceEmperical2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6366330/v1_covered_78ccb006-4925-438c-9c78-52b8f3df9aea.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eEconomic Policy Uncertainty and Green Innovation in Chinese Fintech Firms: The Moderating Role of Green Finance Policy\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Woosong University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Economic Policy Uncertainty, Green Innovation, ESG, Green Finance Policy, Fintech, China","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6366330/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6366330/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and green \u0026nbsp;innovation in Chinese fintech firms, with a particular focus on how green finance policies moderate \u0026nbsp;this relationship. Using a comprehensive panel dataset of 7,640 firm-year observations from 2010 \u0026nbsp;to 2023, we find that EPU negatively impacts green innovation activities, as measured by green \u0026nbsp;patents and green R\u0026amp;D intensity. However, the implementation of green finance policies \u0026nbsp;significantly mitigates this negative effect, suggesting that supportive regulatory frameworks can \u0026nbsp;buffer firms against policy uncertainty. Our findings provide novel insights into the interplay \u0026nbsp;between macroeconomic uncertainty, regulatory environment, and corporate environmental \u0026nbsp;strategies in emerging economies. The results remain robust across various model specifications \u0026nbsp;and alternative measures. Consequently, this findings have important implications for policymakers \u0026nbsp;seeking to promote sustainable development in the financial technology sector amid economic \u0026nbsp;uncertainty.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Economic Policy Uncertainty and Green Innovation in Chinese Fintech Firms: The Moderating Role of Green Finance Policy","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-04 03:23:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6366330/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"af0e4e86-58ab-4f21-9c6a-fcb3ca44c731","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 4th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-04T03:23:16+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-04 03:23:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6366330","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6366330","identity":"rs-6366330","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}