Payout policy and cash-flow uncertainty

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chay, J. B.; Suh, Jungwon
• 署名单位: Ewha Womans University; Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.12.001
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 88-107
• 关键词: Cash-flow uncertainty; dividend; REPURCHASE

摘要

The importance of cash-flow uncertainty in payout policy has received little attention in empirical studies, while survey studies such as [Lintner, J., 1956. Distribution of incomes of operations among dividends, retained earnings, and taxes. American Economic Review 46, 97-113.] and [Brav. A., Graham, J., Harvey C., Michaely, R., 2005. Payout policy in the 21st century. journal of Financial Economics 77, 483-527.] indicate its importance. With worldwide firm-level data, we present evidence that cash-flow uncertainty is an important cross-sectional determinant of corporate payout policy. Our results show that across countries, cash-flow uncertainty, as proxied by stock return volatility, has a negative impact on the amount of dividends as well as the probability of paying dividends. The impact of cash-flow uncertainty on dividends is generally stronger than the impact of other potential determinants of payout policy-such as the earned/contributed capital mix, agency conflicts, and investment opportunities. We also find that the effect of cash-flow uncertainty on dividends is distinct from the effect of a firm's financial life-cycle stage. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.