I examine whether and to what extent tax uncertainty affects a firm's dividend payouts. Based on the argument that tax uncertainty impairs the persistence and predictability of after-tax cash flows, I hypothesize and find that firms with greater tax uncertainty exhibit a lower probability of...

We analyze the impact of share repurchases on liquidity based on a new comprehensive data set of realized share repurchases in the US, which covers 50,204 repurchase months between 2004 and 2010. Using instrumental variable analysis we show that repurchases unequivocally improve liquidity and...

Prior research suggests that managers often fail to complete announced open market repurchase (OMR) plans due to uncertainty in the firm's future cash flows. Although high-ability managers should manage cash flows more effectively to complete share reacquisitions, there is little evidence to...

This paper develops and tests a new theoretical explanation for why a firm conducts open-market and privately-negotiated stock repurchases. Investors may disagree with the manager about the firm's investment projects. A repurchase causes a change in the investor base as investors who are more...

Share repurchases are transactions which are supposed to cause a market reaction through a signaling approach. However looking only at cumulated abnormal returns (CARs) is insufficient and the results are sometimes contradictory. We introduce the concept of informativeness to assess if...

This paper studies the authorization and execution of buybacks in a Kyle micro-structure setting with two informed parties: a speculator who trades on his own account and a manager who implements buybacks for the firm. Buybacks introduce two opposing economic forces. On the one hand, informed...

Using a sample of dividend cuts and omissions between 1994 and 2013, we explore the cycle of dividend reductions due to a financial shock and the subsequent increase in payouts during the recovery. We indeed find that firms are more likely to cut and/or omit dividends during the recent crisis....

Payout flexibility from share repurchases enables firms to reduce dilution and funding cost of stock option grants. Using daily repurchase disclosures, we show that U.K. firms use this flexibility to implement (a) large repurchase payouts, (b) with increased frequency, and (c) with lower daily...

This paper presents a novel study on the significance of corporate payout policy in shaping firms' financial decision-making and, in turn, the macroeconomy. To this end, we add to the literature by allowing households and firms to choose share buybacks optimally. We then explore the implications...

In addition to distributing dividends and repurchasing shares, directly distributing cash to shareholders in order to reduce capital is an alternative form of paying out. A firm can alter its capital structure by repurchasing shares or by reducing capital. This paper employs the approach of...