This paper examines the market reaction to and earnings management choices around changes in the regulations requiring a higher minimum dividend payout in China. We exploit the unique Chinese setting that facilitates identification of the agency cost effect to shed new light on the determinants...

Previous studies of relative performance evaluation (RPE) for executive compensations in Western developed markets have produced mixed findings. This is partly because the dispersion of share ownership in Western capital markets does not closely correspond with the single-principal/multi-agent...