【摘要】 基于《九民纪要》出台的准自然实验，本文采用双重差分法系统评估横向法人人格否认制度对企业商业信用融资的影响效应及作用机制。研究发现，制度的实施显著提升存在异常横向关联交易企业的商业信用融资规模，通过强化债权人保护和优化信用契约环境，有效增强企业非正式融资能力。机制分析表明，横向法人人格否认制度一方面构建关联企业连带责任框架，将传统关系型信任升级为制度化信任，另一方面通过内化企业破产成本，强化股东对管理层机会主义行为的监督约束，通过上述两个作用渠道提升企业商业信用融资能力。进一步分析证实，企业商业信用融资扩张源于供应商基于信任与法律保障的“主动授信”行为而非企业“被动挤占”的结果，凸显出制度变革对市场信用环境的实质性改善。异质性分析表明，横向法人人格否认制度实施在供应商处于主导地位以及所处地区社会信任水平较低的企业中更为显著，拓展“法与金融”理论在非正式金融领域的研究边界，为中国立法与司法改革实践提供经验证据，为完善企业集团治理、优化商业信用生态提供重要的政策启示。更多还原

【Abstract】 The corporate legal personality and limited liability systems serve as the institutional cornerstones of the modern market economy. However, these systems create structural contradictions where shareholders may abuse corporate independence to evade debts, thereby infringing upon creditor’s rights. To address these challenges and maintain market order, the “Horizontal Denial of Corporate Personality” rule was formalized in China through the Minutes of the National Courts’ Civil and Commercial Trial Work Conference in 2019. This institutional innovation extends liability across associated companies, breaking the traditional barrier isolating liabilities within single entities. This study investigates whether this legal change improves the credit contract environment and influences corporate trade credit financing. Using the 2019 rule’s implementation as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper employs a difference-in-differences model on a panel of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2024 to evaluate its impact on trade credit financing. The empirical results demonstrate that the rule significantly increases trade credit financing for enterprises with abnormal horizontal associations.Mechanism analysis reveals this effect is driven by two channels: the enhancement of institutional trust and the optimization of corporate governance. First, by establishing a framework of joint and several liabilities among affiliated enterprises, the system upgrades the traditional relational trust between supply chain partners to a more stable institutional trust. This legal assurance significantly reduces the transaction costs and risks perceived by creditors, thereby encouraging upstream suppliers to extend credit. Second, the system internalizes corporate bankruptcy costs, effectively transforming shareholders from passive owners into active supervisors. This shift strengthens the monitoring of management and effectively curbs managerial opportunistic behaviors, thereby improving the overall credibility and solvency of the enterprise.Furthermore, empirical evidence indicates this increase stems from suppliers’ “active credit granting” rather than enterprises’ “passive credit squeezing”. Heterogeneity tests show the policy effect is most pronounced when suppliers dominate the supply chain and in regions with lower social trust, highlighting formal law as an effective substitute for informal norms. This research contributes to the existing literature by expanding the boundaries of “Law and Finance” into the realm of informal financing. It provides empirical evidence that the strengthening creditor protection through the Horizontal Denial of Corporate Personality can significantly optimize the business credit environment. The findings offer important policy implications, suggesting that unifying judicial application and clarifying liability boundaries can facilitate the efficient allocation of financial resources within the supply chain.更多还原