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On the marginal source of investment funds

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Listed author(s):
  • Auerbach, Alan J.
  • Hassett, Kevin A.

Abstract

Under the new view' of dividend taxation developed in Auerbach (1979), Bradford (1981) and King (1977) the marginal source of finance for new investment projects is retained earnings. In this case, the tax advantage of retentions precisely offsets the double taxation of subsequent dividends: taxes on dividends have no impact on the investment incentives of firms using retentions as a marginal source of funds and paying dividends with residual cash flows. We find evidence that dividends do respond to investment and cash flow for the nonfinancial corporate sector as a whole in a manner consistent with the new view. We also find that this dividend pattern is weaker for firms with better access to capital markets, as measured by bond rating and the number of analysts following them. Finally, we find that, although new share issues and repurchases respond to the same firm characteristics as dividends do, the pattern of these responses is consistent with a broader interpretation of the new view that preserves the main result of dividend-tax irrelevance with respect to the cost of capital.

(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Public Economics.

Volume (Year): 87 (2003)
Issue (Month): 1 (January)
Pages: 205-232

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Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:87:y:2003:i:1:p:205-232
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505578

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy
  • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm

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  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. Hans-Werner Sinn, 1991. "Taxation and the Cost of Capital: The "Old" View, the "New" View, and Another View," NBER Chapters,in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 5, pages 25-54 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. Bernheim, B Douglas & Wantz, Adam, 1995. "A Tax-Based Test of the Dividend Signaling Hypothesis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 532-551, June.
  4. Richard W. Kopcke & Eric S. Rosengren, 1990. "Are the distinctions between debt and equity disappearing? An overview," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 3-10.
  5. Auerbach, Alan J., 2002. "Taxation and corporate financial policy," Handbook of Public Economics,in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 19, pages 1251-1292 Elsevier.
  6. James M. Poterba & Lawrence H. Summers, 1984. "The Economic Effects of Dividend Taxation," Working papers 343, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
  7. Jason G. Cummins & Kevin A. Hassett & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1994. "A Reconsideration of Investment Behavior Using Tax Reforms as Natural Experiments," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 25(2), pages 1-74.
  8. Newey, Whitney K., 1987. "Efficient estimation of limited dependent variable models with endogenous explanatory variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 231-250, November.
  9. 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.
  10. Phoebus J. Dhrymes & Mordecai Kurz, 1967. "Investment, Dividend, and External Finance Behavior of Firms," NBER Chapters,in: Determinants of Investment Behavior, pages 427-485 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  11. Bagwell, Laurie Simon & Shoven, John B, 1989. "Cash Distributions to Shareholders," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 129-140, Summer.
  12. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
  13. Bradford, David F., 1981. "The incidence and allocation effects of a tax on corporate distributions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 1-22, February.
  14. B. Douglas Berhheim, 1991. "Tax Policy and the Dividend Puzzle," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 22(4), pages 455-476, Winter.
  15. Honore, Bo E, 1992. "Trimmed LAD and Least Squares Estimation of Truncated and Censored Regression Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(3), pages 533-565, May.
  16. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
  17. Auerbach, Alan J., 1979. "Share valuation and corporate equity policy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 291-305, June.
  18. Alan J. Auerbach, 1989. "Tax policy and corporate borrowing," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 33, pages 136-172.
  19. Alan J. Auerbach, 1979. "Wealth Maximization and the Cost of Capital," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 93(3), pages 433-446.
  20. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
  21. Asquith, Paul & Mullins, David Jr., 1986. "Equity issues and offering dilution," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1-2), pages 61-89.
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