This paper provides out-of-sample evidence on the payout policy in Canada during the 1985-2003 period. First, we show that the proportion of nonfinancial firms paying dividends has decreased, while the proportion initiating repurchase programs has increased. We also show that Canadian firms...

This paper examines, in a Canadian context, the effect of short sales regulation on the risk-return relationship. It shows that, theoretically, the opportunity cost induced by short sales regulation is positively related to the dispersion of agents' beliefs and negatively related to the...