Shareholder liability was once discussed only in terms of liability for the debts of the corporation in which the shareholders hold interest. That is now a shifting scene, influenced in the main by the emergence of shareholder activism and derivative litigation, with its attendant increase of...

In a sample of 22,374 firms from 35 countries, we examine the role of creditor rights, shareholder rights, and corporate governance in determining corporate dividend policy. We find that, while all three variables play a significant role in determining both the likelihood and the dividend...