Socio‐economic characteristics of the rural population in Gcumisa ward,KwaZulu

The purpose of this paper is to present information gathered in a multi‐stage sample survey of 193 rural homesteads in the Gcumisa ward of KwaZulu. The survey area was stratified into two regions of different agricultural potential. Estimates of human population, off‐farm employment, crop production expenditure, land utilization and homestead income are projected for the strata Sample observations relating to occupations, wages and cash remittances are also presented. Conclusions drawn relate primarily to the effects of yield expectations, farm size and off‐farm employment opportunities on crop production.     

The effects of dividend yield and dividend policy on common stock prices and returns

This paper suggests that it is not possible to demonstrate, using the best available empirical methods, that the expected returns on high yield common stocks differ from the expected returns on low yield common stocks either before or after taxes. A taxable investor who concentrates his portfolio in low yield securities cannot tell from the data whether he is increasing or decreasing his expected after-tax return by so doing. A tax exempt investor who concentrates his portfolio in high yield securities cannot tell from the data whether he is increasing or decreasing his expected return. We argue that the best method for testing the effects of dividend policy on stock prices is to test the effects of dividend yield on stock returns. Thus the fact that we cannot tell, using the best available methods, what effects dividend yield has on stock returns implies that we cannot tell what effect, if any, a change in dividend policy will have on a corporation's stock price.