Abstract

Mass media create a huge social network spreading web news and emotions regarding serious air pollution in China. We combine the daily monitoring data of air pollution (NOx, NO2 and SO2) with the GDELT database of news sentiments on air pollution from Chinese news media, and then investigate the causal relationship between the environmental news sentiment and the air pollution. We find consistent and dynamic impact of the critical news sentiment on air pollution at both the city, county and firm levels. We also document the role of the government’s announcements of environmental policies in reshaping the news sentiment for the good of the environment. The main contributions of this undergoing research are the following: 1/ from a theoretical point of view, we contribute to the literature on the role of the mass media in disciplining corporate social practices and on the development of sustainable entrepreneurship; 2/ from the methodological point of view, we use a unique combination of media big data and multiple pollution databases; 3/ from the policy perspective, we clarify the complementarity between informal and formal environmental regulation in emerging countries.

Practical information