The average annual inflation-adjusted amount paid out through dividends and repurchases by public industrial firms is more than three times larger from 2000 to 2019 than from 1971 to 1999. We find that an increase in aggregate corporate income accounts for 37% of the increase in aggregate annual...

Using a sample of dividend cuts and omissions between 1994 and 2013, we explore the cycle of dividend reductions due to a financial shock and the subsequent increase in payouts during the recovery. We indeed find that firms are more likely to cut and/or omit dividends during the recent crisis....

Employee compensation may impact payout policy by (i) incentivizing managers with non-dividend-protected options to favor repurchases over dividends and (ii) diluting earnings, which firms can neutralize through share repurchases. Both the dividend-protection and dilution channels imply a...