Abstract: The original intention of government subsidy for enterprises is to promote economic purposes such as technological innovation and industrial transformation.However,few scholars have paid attention to its social effect.According to the political cost theory,after receiving government subsidy,enterprises may face the pressure of rising political costs,so they may make more well-intentioned measures to repay the society.Taking social responsibility as the starting point,this paper,using the sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2018,studies the impact of government subsidy on social responsibility.It is found that government subsidy significantly promotes the implementation of corporate social responsibility.Compared with tax incentives,direct subsidy has a more significant impact on social responsibility.This result is also true after changing the measurement of social responsibility and controlling endogenous problems.Further study shows that social pressures such as political cost play a significant role in regulating the relationship between government subsidy and corporate social responsibility.The stronger the political connection,the higher the media attention;and for the enterprises with state-owned property rights,the impact of government subsidy on social responsibility is more significant.This study not only enriches the existing theories on the social benefits of government subsidy,but also deepens theunderstanding of the internal mechanism of decision-making of corporate social responsibility.

Key words: government subsidy, political cost, corporate social responsibility, spillover effect