The More, the Merrier: An International Analysis of the Frequency of Dividend Payment

Abstract:  The joint contributions of prospect theory and mental accounting imply that investors receive a higher utility when a given level of dividends is paid more frequently, suggesting that dividends should be paid as often as possible. We document a strong positive relationship between payment frequency and firm value, confirmed with an event study of dividend payment frequency changes. Upon examining the frequency with which dividends are paid around the world, we discover that considerable variation exists, and that dividends are not paid as often as behavioral aspects suggest they should. From our multivariate analysis, we determine that non-behavioral factors such as the legal regime as well as the level and standard deviation of operating income exert significant influences on the payment frequency of dividends, suggesting that a tradeoff exists between behavioral and non-behavioral factors. The relationship between payment frequency and firm value remains robust in the presence of these non-behavioral factors.     

财务特征、公司治理与现金股利分配倾向

以2001～2008年间772家沪深A股上市公司为样本,实证分析财务特征和公司治理对现金股利分配倾向的影响得出,在财务特征方面,规模大和盈利能力强的公司倾向于分配现金股利,而成长性高和资产负债率高的公司则相反;在公司治理方面,国有控股、董事会规模大、高管薪酬高和由四大会计师事务所签证的公司倾向于分配现金股利,流通股比例高和独立董事规模大的公司却相反,而公司领导权结构的影响则不显著。概言之,财务特征显示上市公司有能力发放现金股利,但治理因素却表明上市公司并不希望发放现金股利。     

Stock Market Development and the Decline of the Portion of Dividend Payers throughout the World

I contend that stock market development has substantially contributed to the decline of dividend payers worldwide. Using data from 31 countries, my research shows that stock market development makes firms in countries with a relatively high dependence on stock market financing less likely to pay dividends, to pay less, and more likely to omit. These results also are robust to the sample selection, the time‐varying firm characteristics, and the differences in legal systems, capital market scales, and country‐level information disclosure.     

Factors Influencing Dividend Policy Decisions of Nasdaq Firms

This study reports the results of a 1999 survey of Nasdaq‐listed firms. Respondents provided information about the importance of 22 different factors that influence their dividend policy. Our results suggest that many managers of Nasdaq firms make dividend decisions consistent with Lintner's (1956) survey results and model. The results also show significant differences between the manager responses of financial and non‐financial firms on nine of the 22 factors. This finding implies the presence of industry effects on dividend policy decisions. In general, the same factors that are important to Nasdaq firms are also important to NYSE firms.     

The Pitfalls of International Integration: A Comment on the Bush Proposal and its Aftermath

In January 2003, the Bush Administration proposed a new system for taxing corporate dividends, under which domestic shareholders in U.S. corporations would not be taxed on dividends they received, provided the corporation distributed these dividends out of after-tax earnings (the Bush Proposal). The Bush Proposal was introduced in Congress on February 27, 2003. Ultimately, however, Congress balked at enacting full-fledged dividend exemption. Instead, in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) as enacted on May 28, 2003, a lower rate of 15% was adopted for dividends paid by domestic and certain foreign corporations,¹ and the capital gains rate was likewise reduced to 15%. Significantly and in stark contrast to the original Bush proposal, under JGTRRA the lower rate for dividends and capital gains does not depend on any tax being paid at the corporate level.This comment will focus primarily on the international aspects of both the Bush Proposal and JGTRRA. I will not lay out the proposal or the law in any detail. Instead, I will ask whether either the Bush Proposal or JGTRRA make sense from an economic efficiency perspective when the international implications are taken into account. I will leave to others the question of whether either the Bush Proposal or JGTRRA are sensible ways to stimulate the economy (for discussion of the effect of the 2001 tax cuts see Shapiro and Slemrod, 2001, 2002). I will also omit any discussion of the distributive effects of either the Bush Proposal or JGTRRA, which have been extensively discussed elsewhere (e.g., Tax Policy Center, 2003; Burman, Gale and Orszag, 2003).     

中国上市公司现金分红实证分析

本文采用实证研究方法 ,从上市公司派现能力和投资机会的角度分析现金分红决策的影响因素 ,特别注意现金流量 (FCFE、ONCF、NCF)对现金分红的影响。主要回答 :上市公司现金分红与股权自由现金流量为什么不相等 ?现金分红与公司派现能力和投资机会有什么关系 ?不同行业现金分红有什么特点 ?     

The Association Between Operating Cash Flows and Dividend Changes: An Empirical Investigation

The Association between earnings and dividend changes has been established since Lintner's (1956) pioneering work. Subsequent research attempted to establish an association between operating cash flows and dividend changes, given earnings, without success (Simons, 1994). Recently, there has been increased attention in cash flow reporting. Regulatory bodies worldwide have stressed the significance of cash flow information in capital markets. Research on the association between cash flows and dividends has been limited, yielding inconclusive results. The purpose of this study is to re-evaluate and extend prior studies by examining the incremental ability of cash flows to explain dividend changes, given earnings. We argue that a positive relationship between cash flows and dividend changes should exist due to liquidity and accruals management considerations. The empirical evidence of this study supports that the dividend changes-cash flow relationship is significantly positive (a) when operating cash flows are low compared to earnings, and (b) when firm growth is moderate.     

Prior Payment Status and the Likelihood to Pay Dividends: International Evidence

By using the signaling model and the life‐cycle theory, I examine the importance of prior payment status in determining the likelihood to pay dividends. I categorize firms into those that paid dividends previously and those that did not. My results show that strong dividend stickiness exists and the determinants to pay differ significantly for the two groups of firms. High growth and low insider holdings make prior payers more likely to pay but prior nonpayers less likely to pay. Furthermore, prior payers are more sensitive to profitability and earned/contributed equity mix, while prior nonpayers are more sensitive to risk and dividend premiums. Finally, taking the prior payment status into account eliminates the problem of overestimating the portion of payers put forth by previous studies.     

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。     

Dividend Imputation and Shareholder Wealth: The Case of New Zealand

On April 1, 1988, New Zealand stopped the double taxation of dividends by implementing a full dividend imputation program. Because many believed that the tax advantage of debt had led to more highly leveraged firms subject to greater financial risk than was socially optimal, it was hoped the removal of incentives to finance with debt would result in a more efficient allocation of capital. The empirical results suggest that the shareholder wealth gain from dividend imputation was more than offset in firms with large debt levels. Moreover, an examination of debt ratios indicates debt levels declined in the post–imputation period.     

论现代国际私法实质正义价值取向

与＂法则区别说＂时代的国际私法比较,现代国际私法更注重对实质正义的追求和实现。针对这一现象,在考察前现代国际私法的基本价值追求和表现形态的基础上,分析现代国际私法以追求实质正义为精神内核,由此呈现出现代国际私法对实质正义的追求发展是人类对整个法律价值追求演进的一部分,简明提出实现现代国际私法实质正义的途径与方式。     

International differences in willingness to pay for reduced risks due to risk representation: evidence from cross-country surveys in Northeast Asia

International benefit transfer from developed countries is often used to evaluate international aid projects due to the lack of primary study in the policy country, particularly when the policy country is a developing one. This paper shows that different countries may have considerable differences in their willingness to pay (WTP) for risk reduction using three surveys with the same protocol carried out around the same time in a coastal city in China, Japan, and South Korea. Japanese WTP is more than the South Korean one. Chinese WTP changes greatly depending on price adjustment coefficients: purchasing power price index or real exchange rate, but it is not impacted by risk reduction representation as in Japan and South Korea. This result suggests that more attention needs to be paid to the effect of international cultural settings when applying international benefit transfers.     

环境税的倍加红利分析

环境的恶化不但直接影响着我国人民的生存质量，而且制约着我国社会经济的协调发展。运用税收手段保护环境，是十分必要的。在实践中，我们应该重视发挥环境税的倍加红利作用，利用环境税刺激外部经济，减轻合乎环境保护要求的企业所承受的税收负担。     

社会治理与医保支付改革:理论分析与国际经验北大核心CSSCI

医保支付改革是全球性医疗保险改革的核心,在中国医药卫生体制改革中具有战略意义。在社会医疗保险主导的体系中,医保支付改革的实质是行政力量通过行政机制的引领作用,在医保支付者和医疗服务者之间建立公共契约制度,运用市场机制,重构医疗服务供方的激励结构,以期提升效率,遏制供方诱导需求。由于医保支付方式呈现多样性和复杂性,公共契约制度化依赖于社群机制的运作,包括医学会、医师协会和医院管理协会等在内的医界社会组织为新医保支付方式的选择及其细节游戏规则的制定提供专业性、技术性支撑,对于医保支付改革的成功推进,是不可或缺的。唯有多方利益相关者协作互动,多种治理机制互补嵌合,政府在此过程中扮演元治理者的角色,达成社会治理之境,才能推动医保支付改革砥砺前行。     

跨国并购与我国资产评估法的完善

跨国并购促进了我国技术进步、市场完善和经济增长.由于相关法制的缺失,跨国并购也带来了国有资产流失问题.鉴于此,必须从企业产权主体的归位、资产评估机构的中立性以及资产评估方法的合理筛选等方面完善我国的资产评估法律制度.     

金融消费者权益保护机制的国际经验与借鉴

本文分析了我国金融消费者权益保护中存在的立法不足、权益保护组织机构不明确和缺少专业高效的纠纷处理途径等主要问题。梳理了金融消费者权益保护的国际经验和趋势。根据我国现状,从法律法规建设、组织机构设置、维权机制建设等方面,提出进一步完善我国金融消费者权益保护机制的建议。     

海南胡椒产品的国际市场竞争力分析

胡椒是海南重要的热带农产品之一。本文从海南胡椒产品的生产和我国胡椒产品的消费现状及消费趋势与前景入手,借助国际市场占有率、贸易专业化指数和显示比较优势指数分析海南胡椒产品的国际竞争力,探讨影响海南胡椒产品国际竞争力的主要因素,并就如何提升海南胡椒产品的国际竞争力提出了若干思考。     

婴儿奶粉安全性对消费者选择行为的影响

以婴儿奶粉这一特殊消费群的食品为例,本文利用2013年7月在内蒙古呼和浩特市的调查数据,以结合分析（ Conjoint Analysis）技术为理论框架,分析了消费者对婴儿奶粉的选择行为和边际支付意愿。结果表明,三聚氰胺事件的发生,使消费者对婴儿奶粉的购买意愿和选择行为产生了很大的影响。对进口奶粉的边际支付意愿比较高。从国产知名的乳品大企业生产的婴儿奶粉里也检测出三聚氰胺成分这一事情,使消费者失去了对国产乳品大企业产品的信任,该事件亦重创国产商品的信誉。根据以上结论,针对婴儿奶粉安全问题,提出了相关政策建议。     

外商直接投资收益汇出与国际收支的风险分析

随着外商直接投资的不断增加,我国投资收益账户逆差也逐年增大.分析外商直接投资收益汇出对我国国际收支产生的不利影响及潜在风险,进而合理高效地利用外资,能够降低外商直接投资对我国国际收支的风险.