This study examines the extent to which agency-based models and asymmetric information theories explain dividend smoothing around the world. Tests on a cross-section of more than two thousand firms from twenty-four countries show that managers of firms with low market-to-book ratios and less...

Studies by LaPorta et al. (2000, 2002) show that the strong protection of investor rights encourage the development of capital markets and are associated with higher levels of firm valuation as measured by Tobin's Q. Related research finds that well-developed capital markets produce higher rates...

This study investigates patterns in dividend payment across nine common law and sixteen civil law countries over 1994-2007. We begin by examining whether the recent decline in the number of dividend payers is solely a US phenomenon or part of a more global trend. We find that at the beginning of...

Our study examines the nature of industrial and global diversification for a sample of more than 12 000 firms across 35 emerging and developed countries during the period 1991-2006. Consistent with previous studies, we find that industrial diversification, either alone or combined with global...

We examine whether the decline in the number of dividend payers is purely a U.S. phenomenon or is part of a global trend. Focusing on the United Kingdom, a capital market comparable in maturity and sophistication to that of the United States, we find that the number of U.K. firms paying...