IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finmar/v14y2011i2p344-375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of foreign ownership on payout policy: Evidence from the Korean market

Author

Listed:
  • Jeon, Jin Q.
  • Lee, Cheolwoo
  • Moffett, Clay M.

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the relationship between foreign ownership and the decisions on payout policy in the Korean stock market. The evidence indicates that foreign investors show a preference for firms that pay high dividends. When they have substantial shareholdings, foreign investors lead firms to pay more dividends. The results are driven by the fact that most of the foreign investors in the Korean market are institutional investors and thus have both dividend clienteles and monitoring incentives. However, foreign investors neither express preference for firms that buy back shares, nor are they associated with encouraging firms to increase repurchases. The results are robust after controlling for endogeneity. We find little evidence that domestic institutions have a significant effect on payout policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeon, Jin Q. & Lee, Cheolwoo & Moffett, Clay M., 2011. "Effects of foreign ownership on payout policy: Evidence from the Korean market," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 344-375, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finmar:v:14:y:2011:i:2:p:344-375
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386-4181(10)00033-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brennan, Michael J & Thakor, Anjan V, 1990. "Shareholder Preferences and Dividend Policy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 993-1018, September.
    2. Agrawal, Anup & Mandelker, Gershon N., 1990. "Large Shareholders and the Monitoring of Managers: The Case of Antitakeover Charter Amendments," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 143-161, June.
    3. Hyuk Choe & Bong-Chan Kho & René M. Stulz, 2005. "Do Domestic Investors Have an Edge? The Trading Experience of Foreign Investors in Korea," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 795-829.
    4. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    5. Del Guercio, Diane, 1996. "The distorting effect of the prudent-man laws on institutional equity investments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 31-62, January.
    6. Jagannathan, Murali & Stephens, Clifford P. & Weisbach, Michael S., 2000. "Financial flexibility and the choice between dividends and stock repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 355-384, September.
    7. Clifford P. Stephens & Michael S. Weisbach, 1998. "Actual Share Reacquisitions in Open-Market Repurchase Programs," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(1), pages 313-333, February.
    8. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    9. Tomas Dvorak, 2001. "Do Domestic Investors Have an Information Advantage? Evidence from Indonesia," Center for Development Economics 168, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    10. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐de‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2000. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 1-33, February.
    11. Brav, Alon & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Michaely, Roni, 2005. "Payout policy in the 21st century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 483-527, September.
    12. Brockman, Paul & Chung, Dennis Y., 2001. "Managerial timing and corporate liquidity: *1: evidence from actual share repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 417-448, September.
    13. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    14. Kai Li & Xinlei Zhao, 2008. "Asymmetric Information and Dividend Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 37(4), pages 673-694, December.
    15. Matthew T. Billett & Hui Xue, 2007. "The Takeover Deterrent Effect of Open Market Share Repurchases," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1827-1850, August.
    16. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    17. Barclay, Michael J. & Smith, Clifford Jr., 1988. "Corporate payout policy : Cash Dividends versus Open-Market Repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 61-82, October.
    18. Dahlquist, Magnus & Robertsson, Goran, 2001. "Direct foreign ownership, institutional investors, and firm characteristics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 413-440, March.
    19. Parrino, Robert & Sias, Richard W. & Starks, Laura T., 2003. "Voting with their feet: institutional ownership changes around forced CEO turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 3-46, April.
    20. Merton H. Miller & Franco Modigliani, 1961. "Dividend Policy, Growth, and the Valuation of Shares," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34, pages 411-411.
    21. Morck, Randall K. (ed.), 2000. "Concentrated Corporate Ownership," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226536781, December.
    22. Guercio, Diane Del & Hawkins, Jennifer, 1999. "The motivation and impact of pension fund activism," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 293-340, June.
    23. Franklin Allen & Antonio E. Bernardo & Ivo Welch, 2000. "A Theory of Dividends Based on Tax Clienteles," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2499-2536, December.
    24. Hau, Harald, 2001. "Geographic patterns of trading profitability in Xetra," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 757-769, May.
    25. Woidtke, Tracie, 2002. "Agents watching agents?: evidence from pension fund ownership and firm value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 99-131, January.
    26. Gillan, Stuart L. & Starks, Laura T., 2000. "Corporate governance proposals and shareholder activism: the role of institutional investors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 275-305, August.
    27. Black, Fischer & Scholes, Myron, 1974. "The effects of dividend yield and dividend policy on common stock prices and returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 1-22, May.
    28. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    29. Chen, Xia & Harford, Jarrad & Li, Kai, 2007. "Monitoring: Which institutions matter?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 279-305, November.
    30. Yaniv Grinstein & Roni Michaely, 2005. "Institutional Holdings and Payout Policy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1389-1426, June.
    31. Michaely, Roni & Thaler, Richard H & Womack, Kent L, 1995. "Price Reactions to Dividend Initiations and Omissions: Overreaction or Drift?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(2), pages 573-608, June.
    32. Easterbrook, Frank H, 1984. "Two Agency-Cost Explanations of Dividends," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 650-659, September.
    33. Short, Helen & Zhang, Hao & Keasey, Kevin, 2002. "The link between dividend policy and institutional ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 105-122, March.
    34. Lily Qiu, 2004. "Which Institutional Investors Monitor? Evidence from Acquisition Activity," Yale School of Management Working Papers amz2497, Yale School of Management, revised 01 Jun 2006.
    35. Tomáš Dvořák, 2005. "Do Domestic Investors Have an Information Advantage? Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 817-839, April.
    36. Jay C. Hartzell & Laura T. Starks, 2003. "Institutional Investors and Executive Compensation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    37. Baek, Jae-Seung & Kang, Jun-Koo & Suh Park, Kyung, 2004. "Corporate governance and firm value: evidence from the Korean financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 265-313, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Szilagyi, P.G., 2007. "Corporate governance and the agency costs of debt and outside equity," Other publications TiSEM 9520d40a-224f-43a8-9bf9-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    3. Jeon, Jin Q. & Ryoo, Juyoun, 2013. "How do foreign investors affect corporate policy?: Evidence from Korea," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 52-65.
    4. Golbe, Devra L. & Nyman, Ingmar, 2013. "How do share repurchases affect ownership concentration?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 22-40.
    5. du Jardin, Philippe & Séverin, Eric, 2011. "Dividend policy," MPRA Paper 44382, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Brav, Alon & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Michaely, Roni, 2005. "Payout policy in the 21st century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 483-527, September.
    7. Chai, D.H., 2010. "Foreign Corporate Ownership and Dividends," Working Papers wp401, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    8. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Uddin, Mohammad Riaz, 2022. "Do intangibles matter for corporate policies? Evidence from organization capital and corporate payout choices," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    9. Renneboog, L.D.R. & Trojanowski, G., 2005. "Patterns in Payout Policy and Payout Channel Choice of UK Firms in the 1990s," Discussion Paper 2005-002, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    10. Trojanowski, G., 2004. "Ownership structure as a mechanism of corporate governance," Other publications TiSEM 5dbc874d-d1d0-44a5-9717-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Henry, Darren, 2011. "Ownership structure and tax-friendly dividends," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2747-2760, October.
    12. Johannes A. Skjeltorp & Bernt Arne Ødegaard, 2004. "The ownership structure of repurchasing firms," Working Paper 2004/7, Norges Bank.
    13. Chen, Jie & Song, Wei & Goergen, Marc, 2019. "Passing the dividend baton: The impact of dividend policy on new CEOs' initial compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 458-481.
    14. Chacko Jacob & Jijo Lukose P.J., 2018. "Institutional Ownership and Dividend Payout in Emerging Markets: Evidence from India," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 17(1_suppl), pages 54-82, April.
    15. Ye, Dezhu & Deng, Jie & Liu, Yi & Szewczyk, Samuel H. & Chen, Xiao, 2019. "Does board gender diversity increase dividend payouts? Analysis of global evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-26.
    16. Bartram, Söhnke M. & Brown, Philip & How, Janice C.Y. & Verhoeven, Peter, 2007. "Agency Conflicts and Corporate Payout Policies: A Global Study," MPRA Paper 23244, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Chris Mitchell, 2019. "The Lock-In Effect and the Corporate Payout Puzzle," ISER Discussion Paper 1070, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    18. Fazakas, Gergely & Kosárka, Judit, 2008. "Osztalékpolitikai elméletek [Dividend policy theories]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 782-806.
    19. Paul Tanyi & David B. Smith & Xiaoyan Cheng, 2021. "Does firm payout policy affect shareholders’ dissatisfaction with directors?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 279-320, July.
    20. Szomko Natalia, 2015. "Investor Reaction to Information on Final Dividend Payouts on the Warsaw Stock Exchange – an Event Study Analysis," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 45(1), pages 127-146, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finmar:v:14:y:2011:i:2:p:344-375. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/finmar .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.