Purpose: Study the impact of the heterogeneity of institutional investors, evident in their investment horizon, on firm credit ratings.Methodology/Approach: Use a large sample of U.S. firms over the period 1985 to 2006 (20,670 U.S. firm-year observations) to empirically investigate the...

We provide the first international evidence on the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on dividend policy. Using data from 19 countries, we find that a high level of EPU is positively associated with dividend payout. This evidence is robust to using alternative dividend payout measures,...

We examine the influence of institutional investors' investment horizons on a firm's cost of equity. We argue that the cost of equity will decrease in the presence of institutional investors with longer-term investment horizons due to improved monitoring and information quality. Our empirical...

This paper examines the relevance of institutional investors' investment horizon, as reflected in the response of firm investment to internal cash flows. We argue that institutional investors with longer investment horizons have greater incentives and efficiencies to engage in effective...