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The stability of dividends and wages: Effects of competitor inflexibility

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  • Rettl, Daniel A.
  • Stomper, Alex
  • Zechner, Josef

Abstract

We analyze global data about electricity generation and document that the risk exposure of a firm's owners and its workers depends on competitors' ability or willingness to change their output in response to productivity shocks. Competitor inflexibility appears to be a risk factor: the sales of firms with more inflexible competitors respond more strongly to aggregate sales shocks. As a consequence, competitor inflexibility also affects the stability of firms' total wage- and dividend-payments. Firms with relatively flexible competitors appear to smoothen both wages and dividends, but an increase in competitor inflexibility is associated with less dividend-smoothing and more wagesmoothing. Our evidence supports the idea that labor productivity risk associated with competitor inflexibility should be borne by firms' shareholders, rather than by their workers.

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  • Rettl, Daniel A. & Stomper, Alex & Zechner, Josef, 2016. "The stability of dividends and wages: Effects of competitor inflexibility," CFS Working Paper Series 549, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:549
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chen Lin & Thomas Schmid & Michael S. Weisbach, 2019. "Climate Change, Operating Flexibility and Corporate Investment Decisions," NBER Working Papers 26441, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    3. Chen Lin & Thomas Schmid & Michael S. Weisbach, 2017. "Price Risk, Production Flexibility, and Liquidity Management: Evidence from Electricity Generating Firms," NBER Working Papers 23434, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Mahlstedt, Robert & Weber, Rüdiger, 2020. "Risk Sharing Within and Outside the Firm: The Disparate Effects of Wrongful Discharge Laws on Expected Stock Returns," IZA Discussion Papers 13941, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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