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Dividend payouts under a societal crisis: Financial constraints or signaling?

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  • Liang, Shangkun
  • Niu, Yuhao
  • Yang, Dan
  • Liu, Xuejuan

Abstract

Dividend payouts of Chinese firms are typically flexible and unstable, and firms have leeway to change dividends in response to a crisis. Using this setting, we document that Chinese listed firms tend to decrease dividend payouts under the coronavirus crisis, supporting our financial constraints hypothesis instead of the alternative dividend signaling hypothesis. The baseline result is robust to a series of sensitivity checks. Underlying mechanism tests show that the negative effect of COVID-19 on dividend policies is enhanced in high-constrained groups compared to that in low-constrained groups. Further analysis of crisis-related factors reveals that the main result is enhanced when firms engage in international diversification, when firms have greater labor intensity and when firms are nonstate-owned.

Suggested Citation

  • Liang, Shangkun & Niu, Yuhao & Yang, Dan & Liu, Xuejuan, 2023. "Dividend payouts under a societal crisis: Financial constraints or signaling?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:88:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923002211
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102705
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dividend payouts; Societal crisis; COVID-19; Coronavirus; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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