Dynamic Agency and the q Theory of Investment

We develop an analytically tractable model integrating dynamic investment theory with dynamic optimal incentive contracting, thereby endogenizing financing constraints. Incentive contracting generates a history‐dependent wedge between marginal and average q, and both vary over time as good (bad) performance relaxes (tightens) financing constraints. Financial slack, not cash flow, is the appropriate proxy for financing constraints. Investment decreases with idiosyncratic risk, and is positively correlated with past profits, past investment, and managerial compensation even with time‐invariant investment opportunities. Optimal contracting involves deferred compensation, possible termination, and compensation that depends on exogenous observable persistent profitability shocks, effectively paying managers for luck.     

Agency Conflicts and Dividend Persistence

Bank dividends are unusually persistent. In a crisis, they exacerbate systemic risk and raise concerns for regulators. Bank managers, however, may keep dividends elevated to mitigate agency conflicts with shareholders. One theory holds that persistent dividends may substitute for monitoring by dispersed shareholders. A second theory proposes that they attract institutional shareholders who monitor banks, mitigate agency conflicts, and seek to protect their investments’ value. After controlling for regulatory enforcement actions, we test both theories using 7722 bank-quarter observations spanning the 2007–2009 financial crisis. Our results suggest that dividend persistence increases with managerial agency conflicts but decreases in the presence of concentrated institutional shareholders, consistent with the second theory. In addition, contrary to the first theory, dispersed shareholders have no influence on bank dividend policies. Instead, these dispersed shareholders are associated with more frequent stock repurchase programs.

     

Agency Cost,Dividend Policy and Growth: The Special Case of REITs

Dividend distribution enhances information transmission, and mitigates agency conflicts by restricting managers’ access to free cash flow, and exposing firms to the scrutiny and monitoring by market participants when raising external capital. The reduction in agency costs and improvement in information dissemination reduce the cost of funds, and investment at more competitive cost of capital enhances firm value. For REITs, because of the mandated high dividend distribution, growth depends on the availability of external capital at competitive rates, such that mitigation of agency costs is critical to sustain growth. We examine the relation between dividends and growth with a sample of U.S. equity REITs. Our data reveal a significantly positive relation between externally financed growth and dividend payments. The relation is stronger among REITs with more growth opportunities, and REITs that issue new equity and debt. We interpret this evidence as consistent with the notion that by reducing agency costs and facilitating capital raising, dividends enhance growth.     

Signalling,Agency Theory and Accounting Policy Choice

Signalling and agency theories appear in the accounting literature to be competing theories. This article demonstrates that they are actually consistent theories, in that one set of sufficient conditions of signalling theory is at least consistent with one set of sufficient conditions of agency theory. Indeed, a considerable overlap exists between the two theories: rational behaviour is common to both; information asymmetry in signalling theory is implied by positive monitoring costs in agency theory; ‘quality' in signalling theory can be defined in terms of agency theory variables; and signalling costs are implicit in some bonding devices of agency theory. Examples are given where both theories’ predictions about lobbying, accounting choices, and voluntary auditor selection are added together.     

从博弈看上市公司股利政策的决定

本文从股利政策的内涵出发,运用博弈论的基本原理,分别从管理者与股东、管理者(股东)与债权人方面的利益冲突入手,建立博弈模型,列出支付矩阵,进行均衡分析,得出博弈的均衡结果——低股利支付政策,继续持有股权或债权,指出低正常股利加额外股利政策是最符合这一博弈结果的股利政策选择。     

Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World

This paper outlines and tests two agency models of dividends. According to the "outcome model," dividends are paid because minority shareholders pressure corporate insiders to disgorge cash. According to the "substitute model," insiders interested in issuing equity in the future pay dividends to establish a reputation for decent treatment of minority shareholders. The first model predicts that stronger minority shareholder rights should be associated with higher dividend payouts; the second model predicts the opposite. Tests on a cross section of 4,000 companies from 33 countries with different levels of minority shareholder rights support the outcome agency model of dividends.     

Dividend Policy and Reputation

Abstract:  We examine the role of reputation when firms use dividends to signal their profitability. We analyze a signaling model in which reputation plays no role in equilibrium. We then show that taking reputation into account as a link between sequential dividend decisions makes it possible to endogenize signaling costs and obtain a separating equilibrium. Lastly, we use the reversibility hypothesis and assume that in each period, managers can reverse their choices in terms of dividend distribution. We find that in most cases, the signaling equilibrium becomes unstable, causing any dividend signaling policy to become difficult to implement.     

私募股权投资与现金股利政策

本文研究私募股权投资对被投资公司现金股利政策的影响。研究发现,有私募股权投资参与的公司更倾向于分配现金股利,且现金股利支付率较高,表明私募股权投资不仅影响公司现金股利的分配倾向,还影响现金股利的分配力度。进一步研究发现,私募股权投资的特征同样影响公司的现金股利政策,具体来说,外资背景、投资规模越大、投资期限越长和联合投资的私募股权投资参与的公司更倾向于分配现金股利且现金股利支付率较高。本文的结论对于完善公司现金股利政策以及保护中小投资者利益有重要的启示作用。     

Asymmetric Information and Dividend Policy

We examine how informational asymmetries affect firms' dividend policies. We find that firms that are more subject to information asymmetry are less likely to pay, initiate, or increase dividends, and disburse smaller amounts. We show that our main results are not driven by our sample and that our results persist after accounting for the changing composition of payout over the sample period, the increasing importance of institutional shareholdings, and catering incentives. We conclude that there is a negative relation between asymmetric information and dividend policy. Our results do not support the signaling theory of dividends.     

Shareholder Preferences and Dividend Policy

This paper develops a theory of choice among alternative procedures for distributing cash from corporations to shareholders. Despite the preferential tax treatment of capital gains for individual investors, it is shown that a majority of a firm's shareholders may support a dividend payment for small distributions. For larger distributions an open market stock repurchase is likely to be preferred by a majority of shareholders, and for the largest distributions tender offer repurchases dominate.     

Dividend Policy and Corporate Performance

Substantial research has been conducted to determine the signal that results from dividend initiations and omissions. Our study extends from previous research by measuring the long-term valuation effects following dividend initiations and omissions. We find that firms initiating dividends experience favorable long-term share price performance. Conversely, firms omitting dividends experience unfavorable long-term share price performance. The long-term valuation effects resulting from dividend initiations are more favorable for firms that are smaller, that overinvest, and that had relatively poor performance prior to the initiations. The long-term effects resulting from dividend omissions are more unfavorable for large firms and for firms experiencing relatively large dividend omissions.     

股利分配和股利收益率的国际比较研究

本文采用沪深300指数和S＆P500。指数成分股作为样本比较分析中美两国上市公司派发现金股利的特征。结果发现，与美国上市公司相比，我国上市公司股利分配至少存在以下问题：连续派现能力差、股利与业绩相关性较小和投资者获取得股利收益率较低。     

企业股利政策与财务风险分析

股利政策是企业决定对其盈余进行分配的方案选择，股利政策的实行会给企业的生产经营带来一些有利的影响，同样也会给企业带来一定的财务风险。本将评述两种主要的股利理论，分析股利政策与企业财务风险之间的关系，并就我国上市公司股利政策的现状进行分析，阐述其原因以及其中存在的财务风险。     

Dividend Policy, Corporate Governance and the Managerial Entrenchment Hypothesis: An Empirical Analysis

This paper analyses the agency explanation for the cross-sectional variation of corporate dividend policy in the UK by looking at the managerial entrenchment hypothesis drawn from the agency literature. Consistent with predictions, a significant U-shaped relationship between dividend payout ratios and insider ownership is observed for a large (exceeding 600 firms) sample of UK companies and two distinct periods. These results strongly suggest the possibility of managerial entrenchment when insider ownership reaches a threshold of around 30%. Evidence is also presented that non-beneficial holdings by insiders can lead to entrenchment in conjunction with shares held beneficially.     

应计利润和现金流量对股利决策影响的实证研究

本文首先从理论上分析了应计利润、现金流量对上市公司股利政策的影响作用，并提出了有关这种影响作用的假设；其次利用2003年上市公司的相关数据，验证了现金流量越好的公司越倾向于发放现金股利，应计利润越多的公司越倾向于发放股票股利。研究表明，股利可以起到一定信号传递的作用，特别是现金股利，可以帮投资者甄别品质不同的公司，促进上市公司的优胜劣汰，提高投资效益。     

Earnings Response Coefficients and Dividend Policy Parameters

In a seminal paper. Ball and Brown (1968) documented a positive statistical association between earnings surprises and stock returns around an earnings announcement. They concluded that accounting earnings conveyed ‘useful’ information to the market. However, the question of how accounting earnings convey useful information is still being understood. Recent work on this topic has found that current accounting earnings aid investors and analysts in predicting future accounting earnings. Few studies, however, have examined the usefulness of current earnings for predicting other value-relevant attributes. A model by Ohlson (1989a) suggests that investors are also interested in the relationship between current earnings and future dividends. Ohlson's model is supported by empirical tests in this paper which show that the relationship between current earnings and future dividends is significant in explaining cross-sectional variation in earnings response coefficients (ERCs). A second result of interest is that information in dividends substitutes for that in accounting earnings. We find that dividend policy parameters reflect information contained in current earnings. These results add new insights on the information revealed through the analysis of ERCs. Consistent with logic presented here, a symmetrically opposite result is found with respect to dividend response coefficients. The informativeness of earnings (dividends) is found to be negatively (positively) related to the information content of dividends.