In the last dozen years, economists have produced a considerable body of research suggesting that the historical origin of a country’s laws is highly correlated with a broad range of its legal rules and regulations, as well as with economic outcomes. Much of this research has dealt with rules...

From European integration to domestic politics to the development of the global economy, technocracy and private ordering have shaped economic behaviour. Such transformative private-driven forces of economic activity flourished through the promulgation of voluntary standards. In view of the...

Based on a review of international and regional responses to the global financial and economic crisis and its implications for finance in Asia, Douglas Arner and Lotte Schou-Zibell draw lessons for Asian financial systems with regard to the scope of regulation; financial standards; supervision,...

This paper examines whether dividend policy is associated with earnings management and whether the relationship varies across countries with wide-ranging degrees of institutional strength and transparency. Based on a sample of 23,429 corporations from 29 countries, we show that dividend payers...

We compare the cross-sectional variation in the dividend payout policies of companies across 32 countries. Beyond the impact of firm-specific accounting and financial variables, this study investigates how the country level variations: shareholder demand due to demographic variations and...

For a sample of 28,895 firms across 30 countries and 29 years, there is a negative relation between dividend tax rates and dividend payout. Firms increase dividend payout in response to both absolute and relative (to capital gains tax rates) decreases in dividend tax rates. This negative...

This study tests catering theory of dividend policies in twenty-one countries from 1991 to 2017. First, we show that there are important differences in corporate dividend policies across countries. Second, we find that the catering incentive is stronger when investor sentiment is low. Third,...

We evaluate the influence of the pandemic on global bank lending and identify bank and country characteristics that amplify or weaken the effect of the disease outbreak on bank credit. Using a difference-in-difference methodology and banks from 125 countries, we find that bank lending is weaker...

We examine the effect of increased regulatory enforcement threat on the dividend policies of foreign firms listed in US stock exchanges. The staggered signing of the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) by the US and foreign regulators facilitates cross-border regulatory cooperation...

We examine the impact of political uncertainty on firms' payout policy. Using a large international sample across 35 countries over the period from year 1990 to 2008, we find that past dividend payers are more likely to terminate dividends and that non-payers are less likely to initiate...