We examine how organizational structure affects corporate payout policies. Conglomerates (multi-segment firms) pay out more than pure plays (single-segment firms) in both cash dividends and total payouts (defined as cash dividends plus share repurchases). Further, corporate payouts increase as...

In the absence of market imperfections, the mutuality principle leads to efficient risk sharing and the Pareto optimal asset allocations. With market imperfections such as transaction costs and information asymmetry, risk-sharing becomes costly, and it can even lead to financial crises. We...