This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 crisis on corporate investment and financing policies. Using a difference-in-difference approach, I find while firms suffer from a real negative shock from the pandemic on average, firms with an abundant cash reserve prior to the crisis outperform...

We construct a novel dataset of detailed monthly data on U.S. open market stock repurchases (OMRs) that became available following stricter SEC disclosure requirements in 2004. The data allow us to investigate the timing of OMRs. We find evidence that OMRs are timed to benefit non-selling...

This paper examines the impact of the German 2001 tax reform, where Germany switched from a full imputation system to a classical system. Theory suggests that both price drop ratios and trading volume decrease following the reform. We document a signi cant reduction in the valuation of net...

We examine how product market threats influence firm payout policy and cash holdings. We develop new measures of competitive threats using firms' product text descriptions. Our primary measure, product market fluidity, captures changes in rival firms' products relative to the firm's products. We...

This paper examines why firms choose to pay stock dividends. Using a sample of listed Chinese firms, we find that younger, more profitable firms, with lower leverage, high levels of retained earnings, private ownership prior to listing and investing more in fixed assets are more likely to pay...

Tax effects on distribution policy have been at the center of debate in the theoretical and empirical literature for over half a century. Theoretically, there are two major schools of thought on the matter. The “traditional view” predicts an influence of taxation on firms' payouts, while the...

This paper investigates factors affecting stockholder dividend preferences. The optional dividends paid by Hong Kong firms provide a unique natural experiment for testing dividend preference in a tax free setting. When offered the opportunity to convert cash dividends to stock, investors exhibit...

I examine the emergence and evolution of three distinct groups of payers – firms that distribute cash to shareholders in the form of (i) repurchases, (ii) dividends, and (iii) the mixture of dividends and share buybacks – to understand what determines firms' preferences for certain...

In this paper, we examine whether a firm's relationship with its principal customers/suppliers affects its payout policies. A firm has customer-supplier relationships when its business depends on a small number of major customers/suppliers. The extant literature indicates two channels through...

Improvements in investment efficiency and increase in volume of investments are parts of investment activity, and the growth of it is a necessary condition for economic development in every country. In environment of external mechanisms weakness for favorable investment climate creation, the use...