Why are corporate payouts so high in the 20 0 0s?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kahle, Kathleen; Stulz, Rene M.
• 署名单位: University of Arizona; University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; European Corporate Governance Institute; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.06.020
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 1359-1380
• 关键词: SHARE REPURCHASES; Dividends; payout policy; Payout rate

摘要

The average annual inflation-adjusted amount paid out through dividends and repurchases by public industrial firms is more than three times larger from 20 0 0 to 2019 than from 1971 to 1999. We find that an increase in aggregate corporate income accounts for 37% of the increase in aggregate annual payouts, and an increase in the payout rate accounts for 63%. Firms have higher payout rates in the 20 0 0s not only because they are older, larger, and have more free cash flow, but also because they pay out more of their free cash flow. Though firms spend less on capital expenditures in the 20 0 0s than before, capital expenditures decrease similarly for firms with payouts and for firms without. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.