factors that drive dividend and share repurchase policies. We find that managers are very reluctant to cut dividends, that … dividends are smoothed through time, and that dividend increases are tied to long-run sustainable earnings but much less so than … in the past. Rather than increasing dividends, many firms now use repurchases as an alternative. Paying out with …

large firms. It is concentrated among firms that do not pay dividends. The average cash ratio increases over the sample …

less likely to pay dividends, are more likely to repurchase shares, and they use proportionally more long-term, as opposed …