IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rje/randje/v24y1993isummerp286-303.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate Financial Policy, Taxation, and Macroeconomic Risk

Author

Listed:
  • Mark Gertler
  • R. Glenn Hubbard

Abstract

This article formalizes the intuition that equity provides firms with a cushion against aggregate fluctuations. We show that equity allows a firm to share aggregate risks with its creditors, minimizing the chance that a recession could push it into financial distress. The tax bias against equity finance reduces the extent to which firms insulate themselves against aggregate risks. The role of equity in sharing aggregate risks leads to the prediction that firms' dividends should vary with macroeconomic conditions, after controlling for the effects of relevant firm-level variables. We present empirical evidence in support of this prediction.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Gertler & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1993. "Corporate Financial Policy, Taxation, and Macroeconomic Risk," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(2), pages 286-303, Summer.
  • Handle: RePEc:rje:randje:v:24:y:1993:i:summer:p:286-303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0741-6261%28199322%2924%3A2%3C286%3ACFPTAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q&origin=repec
    File Function: full text
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to JSTOR subscribers. See http://www.jstor.org for details.
    ---><---

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

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1991. "Financial Markets and Financial Crises," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number glen91-1.
    2. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "Active Investors, LBOs, and the Privatization of Bankruptcy," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 77-85, January.
    3. Richard Cantor, 1990. "A panel study of the effects of leverage on investment and employment," Research Paper 9011, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    4. 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.
    5. Ben S. Bernanke & John Y. Campbell, 1988. "Is There a Corporate Debt Crisis?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(1), pages 83-140.
    6. Benjamin M. Friedman, 1990. "Views on the Likelihood of Financial Crisis," NBER Working Papers 3407, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Mark Gertler & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1990. "Taxation, Corporate Capital Structure, and Financial Distress," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy: Volume 4, pages 43-72, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Mark J. Warshawsky, 1991. "Is There a Corporate Debt Crisis? Another Look," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Markets and Financial Crises, pages 207-230, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Miller, Merton H & Rock, Kevin, 1985. "Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1031-1051, September.
    10. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    11. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1991. "Asset Sales and Debt Capacity," NBER Working Papers 3618, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Marsh, Terry A & Merton, Robert C, 1987. "Dividend Behavior for the Aggregate Stock Market," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(1), pages 1-40, January.
    13. James M. Poterba, 1987. "Tax Policy and Corporate Saving," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 18(2), pages 455-516.
    14. Easterbrook, Frank H, 1984. "Two Agency-Cost Explanations of Dividends," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 650-659, September.
    15. repec:fth:harver:1489 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Benjamin M. Friedman, 1986. "Increasing Indebtedness and Financial Stability in the United States," NBER Working Papers 2072, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Sudipto Bhattacharya, 1979. "Imperfect Information, Dividend Policy, and "The Bird in the Hand" Fallacy," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 259-270, Spring.
    18. Benjamin M. Friedman, 1986. "Increasing indebtedness and financial stability in the United States," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 27-61.
    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. Huang-Meier, Winifred & Freeman, Mark C., 2015. "Aggregate dividends and consumption smoothing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 324-335.
    2. Alpa Dhanani, 2005. "Corporate Dividend Policy: The Views of British Financial Managers," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7‐8), pages 1625-1672, September.
    3. 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.
    4. Mihir A. Desai & C. Fritz Foley & James R. Hines Jr., 2002. "Dividend Policy inside the Firm," NBER Working Papers 8698, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. repec:ers:journl:v:v:y:2017:i:4:p:104-132 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Anton Miglo, 2020. "Zero-Debt Policy under Asymmetric Information, Flexibility and Free Cash Flow Considerations," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-25, November.
    7. Sah, Nilesh B., 2021. "Cash is Queen: Female CEOs’ propensity to hoard cash," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    8. 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.
    9. Kuo, Nan-Ting & Lee, Cheng-Few, 2013. "Effects of dividend tax and signaling on firm valuation: Evidence from taxable stock dividend announcements," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 157-180.
    10. Geetanjali Pinto & Shailesh Rastogi, 2019. "Sectoral Analysis of Factors Influencing Dividend Policy: Case of an Emerging Financial Market," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Mark Gertler & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1990. "Taxation, Corporate Capital Structure, and Financial Distress," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy: Volume 4, pages 43-72, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Chen, Chung & Wu, Chunchi, 1999. "The dynamics of dividends, earnings and prices: evidence and implications for dividend smoothing and signaling," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 29-58, January.
    13. Toru Yoshikawa & Abdul A. Rasheed, 2010. "Family Control and Ownership Monitoring in Family‐Controlled Firms in Japan," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 274-295, March.
    14. Michael Ettredge & Jeong Youn Kim, 1994. "Dividend behavior surrounding LIFO adoption," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(1), pages 39-53, September.
    15. Andres, Christian & Doumet, Markus & Fernau, Erik & Theissen, Erik, 2015. "The Lintner model revisited: Dividends versus total payouts," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 56-69.
    16. Andy Lardon & Marc Deloof, 2014. "Financial disclosure by SMEs listed on a semi-regulated market: evidence from the Euronext Free Market," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 361-385, February.
    17. Grey, Colette & Flynn, Antoinette & Donnelly, Ray, 2020. "Management compensation contracts and distribution policies in the US technology sector," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Nan-Ting Kuo, 2013. "Dividend tax signaling and the pricing of future earnings: a case of taxable stock dividends," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 539-570, April.
    20. Charles W. Calomiris & Athanasios Orphanides & Steven A. Sharpe, 1994. "Leverage as a state variable for employment, inventory accumulation, and fixed investment," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 94-24, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    21. William M. Gentry & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1998. "Fundamental Tax Reform and Corporate Financial Policy," NBER Working Papers 6433, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    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:rje:randje:v:24:y:1993:i:summer:p:286-303. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.rje.org .

    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.