IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0281109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Infectious diseases, dividend policy, and independent directors: Evidence from textual analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Saranyu Ungpakorn
  • Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard
  • Pornsit Jiraporn
  • Piyachart Phiromswad

Abstract

We investigated the effect of uncertainty associated with infectious diseases on corporate dividend policy. We used a unique text-based measure of infectious diseases that includes not only the Covid-19, but also other important diseases, such as SARs, MERs, and Ebola. Based on a sample of 287,151 firm-year observations across four decades (from 1985 to 2021), our results show that a higher level of uncertainty associated with infectious diseases significantly reduce dividends. Interestingly, we also found that having more independent directors on the board mitigates the negative effect of uncertainty associated with infectious diseases on dividends which implies that the reduction in dividends was partly driven by agency conflicts. We performed several robustness checks which confirm that our findings are unlikely to be affected by endogeneity issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Saranyu Ungpakorn & Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard & Pornsit Jiraporn & Piyachart Phiromswad, 2023. "Infectious diseases, dividend policy, and independent directors: Evidence from textual analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(2), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0281109
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281109
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281109
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281109&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0281109?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hansen, Lars Peter, 1982. "Large Sample Properties of Generalized Method of Moments Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 1029-1054, July.
    2. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Wongboonsin, Patcharawalai & Kongsompong, Kritika & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2020. "Does economic policy uncertainty influence executive risk-taking incentives?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    3. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    4. Maurice J. G. Bun & Frank Windmeijer, 2010. "The weak instrument problem of the system GMM estimator in dynamic panel data models," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 13(1), pages 95-126, February.
    5. Freier, Ronny & Schumann, Mathias & Siedler, Thomas, 2015. "The earnings returns to graduating with honors — Evidence from law graduates," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 39-50.
    6. Lubos Pástor & Pietro Veronesi, 2012. "Uncertainty about Government Policy and Stock Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(4), pages 1219-1264, August.
    7. Jiang, Yonghong & Wu, Lanxin & Tian, Gengyu & Nie, He, 2021. "Do cryptocurrencies hedge against EPU and the equity market volatility during COVID-19? – New evidence from quantile coherency analysis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Johnson, Simon & Boone, Peter & Breach, Alasdair & Friedman, Eric, 2000. "Corporate governance in the Asian financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 141-186.
    9. Sung C. Bae & Kiyoung Chang & Eun Kang, 2012. "Culture, Corporate Governance, And Dividend Policy: International Evidence," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(2), pages 289-316, June.
    10. Baker, Malcolm & Wurgler, Jeffrey, 2004. "Appearing and disappearing dividends: The link to catering incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 271-288, August.
    11. Jorge Farinha, 2003. "Dividend Policy, Corporate Governance and the Managerial Entrenchment Hypothesis: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(9‐10), pages 1173-1209, December.
    12. 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.
    13. Chay, J.B. & Suh, Jungwon, 2009. "Payout policy and cash-flow uncertainty," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 88-107, July.
    14. Rosenstein, Stuart & Wyatt, Jeffrey G., 1990. "Outside directors, board independence, and shareholder wealth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 175-191, August.
    15. Pandej Chintrakarn & Pornsit Jiraporn & Shenghui Tong & Napatsorn Jiraporn & Richard Proctor, 2020. "How do independent directors view corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 55(4), pages 697-716, November.
    16. Veronica Guerrieri & Guido Lorenzoni & Ludwig Straub & Iván Werning, 2022. "Macroeconomic Implications of COVID-19: Can Negative Supply Shocks Cause Demand Shortages?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(5), pages 1437-1474, May.
    17. 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.
    18. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    19. Brandon Julio & David L. Ikenberry, 2004. "Reappearing Dividends," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 16(4), pages 89-100.
    20. Hossain, Ashrafee Tanvir & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2021. "Political corruption and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    21. Najah Attig & Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2016. "The Global Financial Crisis, Family Control, and Dividend Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 45(2), pages 291-313, May.
    22. Suleman, Muhammad Tahir & Yaghoubi, Mona, 2022. "Infectious disease and corporate activities," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    23. Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2006. "Share repurchases, shareholder rights, and corporate governance provisions," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 35-47, March.
    24. Jorge Farinha, 2003. "Dividend Policy, Corporate Governance and the Managerial Entrenchment Hypothesis: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(9-10), pages 1173-1209.
    25. Watts, Ross, 1973. "The Information Content of Dividends," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(2), pages 191-211, April.
    26. Yoshino, Naoyuki & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Otsuka, Miyu, 2021. "Covid-19 and Optimal Portfolio Selection for Investment in Sustainable Development Goals," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    27. Benartzi, Shlomo & Michaely, Roni & Thaler, Richard H, 1997. "Do Changes in Dividends Signal the Future or the Past?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1007-1034, July.
    28. Julia Sawicki, 2009. "Corporate governance and dividend policy in Southeast Asia pre- and post-crisis," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 211-230.
    29. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:3:p:1259-1294 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Ongsakul, Viput & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2022. "Corporate complexity, managerial myopia, and hostile takeover exposure: Evidence from textual analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    31. Pornsit Jiraporn & Jang‐Chul Kim & Young Sang Kim, 2011. "Dividend Payouts and Corporate Governance Quality: An Empirical Investigation," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 46(2), pages 251-279, May.
    32. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    33. Hailiang Chen & Prabuddha De & Yu (Jeffrey) Hu & Byoung-Hyoun Hwang, 2014. "Wisdom of Crowds: The Value of Stock Opinions Transmitted Through Social Media," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(5), pages 1367-1403.
    34. 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.
    35. Isabel Marques & Zélia Serrasqueiro & Fernanda Nogueira, 2021. "Managers’ Competences in Private Hospitals for Investment Decisions during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, 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. Zhou, Yang & Lucey, Brian M. & He, Feng, 2025. "Dividend payouts and biodiversity risk — Chinese evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Renneboog, Luc & Szilagyi, Peter G., 2020. "How relevant is dividend policy under low shareholder protection?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Paul McGuinness & Kevin Lam & João Vieito, 2015. "Gender and other major board characteristics in China: Explaining corporate dividend policy and governance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 989-1038, December.
    5. James, Hui & Benson, Bradley W. & Wu, Chen (Ken), 2017. "Does CEO ownership affect payout policy? Evidence from using CEO scaled wealth-performance sensitivity," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 328-345.
    6. Chindasombatcharoen, Pongsapak & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2023. "Corporate culture, cultural diversification, and independent directors: Evidence from earnings conference calls," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Maria Elisabete Duante Neves, 2017. "Payout and Firm's Catering," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(4), pages 104-132.
    10. Caixe, Daniel Ferreira, 2022. "Corporate governance and investment sensitivity to policy uncertainty in Brazil," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PB).
    11. repec:ers:journl:v:v:y:2017:i:4:p:104-132 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. 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.
    13. Wongsinhirun, Nopparat & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2023. "Corporate culture and board gender diversity: Evidence from textual analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    14. Deng, Xiaotong & De Groote, Sander & Kevin Li, Chao, 2024. "Dividend signalling and investor protection: An international comparison," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3).
    15. Mao Liang Li & Chin Man Chui & Chang Qing Li, 2014. "Dividend, liquidity and firm valuation: evidence from China AB share markets," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(9), pages 587-603, May.
    16. Charles G. Ham & Zachary R. Kaplan & Steven Utke, 2023. "Attention to dividends, inattention to earnings?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 265-306, March.
    17. Liu, Chinpiao & Chen, An-Sing, 2015. "Do firms use dividend changes to signal future profitability? A simultaneous equation analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 194-207.
    18. Isakov, Dusan & Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe, 2013. "Do not wake sleeping dogs: Pay-out policies in founding family firms," FSES Working Papers 443, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    19. 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.
    20. Fernau, Erik & Hirsch, Stefan, 2019. "What drives dividend smoothing? A meta regression analysis of the Lintner model," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 255-273.
    21. Bogdan Stacescu, 2006. "Dividend Policy in Switzerland," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 20(2), pages 153-183, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:plo:pone00:0281109. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.