This study shows that skilled-labor-intensive firms have lower dividend payouts. A one-standard-deviation increase in ….72 percentage point decrease in dividend payout ratio. Our evidence suggests that greater labor adjustment costs (LACs) of skilled …) leads treated firms to lower (heighten) their dividend payouts. Collectively, these findings indicate a strong dampening …

We examine how firms’ labor skill heterogeneity affects dividend policy. Since it is more costly to hire, retain, and … setting their dividend policy, which competes with funding for labor force. We find that firms with more skilled labor are … dividend increases by such firms are more strongly correlated with future earnings increases and are accompanied by stronger …