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Rent Extraction by Large Shareholders: Evidence Using Dividend Policy in the Czech Republic

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  • Jan Hanousek
  • Jan Bena

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Abstract

Using cross-sectional analysis of corporate dividend policy we show that large shareholders extract rents from forms and expropiate minority shareholders in the weak corporate governance environment of an emerging economy. By comprising divideneds paid across varying corporate ownership structures- concentration, type, and domicile of ownership - we quantify these effects and reveal that they are substantial. We find that the target payout ratio for firms with majotiry ownership is low but that the prescence of a significant minority shareholder increases the target payout ratio and hence precludes a majority owner from extracting rent. In contrast to other studies from developed markets, our unique dataset from teh Czech Republic for the period 1996-2003 permits us to take account of teh endogencity of ownership.

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  • Jan Hanousek & Jan Bena, 2006. "Rent Extraction by Large Shareholders: Evidence Using Dividend Policy in the Czech Republic," FMG Discussion Papers dp556, Financial Markets Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:fmg:fmgdps:dp556
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    2. Juraj Stancik, 2007. "Horizontal and Vertical FDI Spillovers: Recent Evidence from the Czech Republic," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp340, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Urzúa I., Francisco, 2009. "Too few dividends? Groups' tunneling through chair and board compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 245-256, April.
    4. Victor Dragotă & Radu Ciobanu, 2017. "The Unusual Case of the Discount Offers for Taking the Control: Evidence from Romania," Prague Economic Papers, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 2017(1), pages 36-54.
    5. Howard Bodenhorn, 2012. "Voting Rights, Share Concentration, and Leverage at Nineteenth-Century US Banks," NBER Working Papers 17808, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Zuzana Fungacova, 2007. "Can the Market Fix a Wrong Administrative Decision? Massive Delisting on the Prague Stock Exchange," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp335, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    7. Brunzell, Tor & Liljeblom, Eva & Löflund, Anders & Vaihekoski, Mika, 2014. "Dividend policy in Nordic listed firms," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 124-135.
    8. Victor DRAGOTA & Carmen LIPARA & Radu CIOBANU, 2013. "Agency Problems and Synergistic Effects in Romania: The Determinants of the Control Premium," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 63(2), pages 197-219, May.
    9. Anastasiya Shamshur, 2009. "Is the Stability of Leverage Ratios Determined by the Stability of the Economy?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp393, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    10. Saul Estrin & Jan Hanousek & Evzen Kocenda & Jan Svejnar, 2009. "The Effects of Privatization and Ownership in Transition Economies," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 699-728, September.
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    12. Juraj Stančík, 2009. "FDI spillovers in the Czech Republic: takeovers vs. greenfields," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 369, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    13. Yusnidah Ibrahim & Md Mohan Uddin & Kamarun Nisham Taufil Mohd & Mohd Sobri Minai, 2013. "Agency Costs and the Long-Run Performance of Debt Issuers," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 9(1), pages 67-87.
    14. Victor Dragotă & Radu Ciobanu, . "The Unusual Case of the Discount Offers for Taking the Control: Evidence from Romania," Prague Economic Papers, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 0, pages 1-19.
    15. Brada, Josef C., 2016. "Corporate governance following mass privatization," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 1132-1144.
    16. Sasho Arsov & Aleksandar Naumoski, 2016. "Determinants of capital structure: An empirical study of companies from selected post-transition economies," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 119-146.

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    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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