We employ the forward-looking implied dividend information contained in option prices to predict dividend cuts and … omissions during the recent financial crisis. The large number of dividend cuts and omissions during the 2008-09 financial … crisis period provides the opportunity to study the predictability of dividend cuts in a controlled environment. Implied …

We examine the economic benefits of paying dividends. We find that dividend payments mitigate stock price crash risk …. In addition, we show that dividend payments reduce bad news hoarding (overinvestment) while bad news hoarding … enhancing earnings quality (e.g., Skinner and Soltes, 2011) by adding that dividend payments generate economic benefits in the …