Search Results (24)

This study examines the interplay between leverage, dividend policy, and market performance in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector during the economic downturn of 2016–2020. Drawing on signaling and trade-off theories, we investigate how firms balanced leverage and dividend payouts to sustain performance amidst macroeconomic shocks, including currency depreciation, inflation, and weakened consumer demand. Using panel data from 26 Nigerian Stock Exchange-listed firms, the study applies pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) and fixed-effect models (FEM) to analyze the direct and interactive effects of leverage and dividend policy on market performance, controlling for profitability, firm size, and taxation. The findings reveal that leverage generally exerts a negative effect on firm value, particularly long-term debt, which increases financial distress risks. However, the interaction between leverage and dividend payouts positively moderates this relationship, suggesting that firms use dividends strategically to signal stability and mitigate leverage-related risks. Profitability emerges as a key determinant of firm value, while short-term debt provides operational flexibility, and taxation imposes significant financial strain. Larger firms demonstrate greater resilience, benefiting from scale economies and diversified funding sources. This research highlights the importance of an integrative financial strategy during periods of economic uncertainty, emphasizing the complementary roles of leverage and dividend policy in enhancing firm value. The findings offer critical insights for policymakers and corporate managers in emerging markets, advocating for tax reforms and prudent financial management to improve business resilience. By addressing gaps in the literature, this study contributes to the understanding of financial decision-making in developing economies. Full article

This study examines the influence of chairman characteristics on dividend policy within Moroccan firms listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, addressing a critical gap in the behavioral finance literature. This research focuses on five key attributes of chairmen—age, gender, nationality, tenure, and founder status—and analyzes their impact on dividend decisions over a 16-year period (2003–2018). A fixed effects panel data model was employed, incorporating six control variables—firm age, growth opportunities, size, board size, female representation, and foreign ownership. The results demonstrate that chairman age and tenure significantly affect dividend policy. Older chairmen are more risk-averse, favoring higher dividend distributions to ensure financial stability, while longer-tenured chairmen tend to retain earnings for aggressive investments, reflecting overconfidence. The other variables—gender, nationality, and founder status—showed no statistically significant effects in this context. This research provides the first empirical evidence on the relationship between chairman characteristics and dividend policy in Morocco. The findings offer valuable insights for investors, analysts, and policymakers in emerging markets, emphasizing the role of leadership traits in corporate financial strategies. By highlighting the importance of behavioral factors, this study enhances understanding of dividend policy determinants in developing economies. Full article

This research conducts a meticulous examination of the determinants influencing dividend payout dynamics among firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange (KSE) from 1995 to 2021, a period characterized by profound economic fluctuations. By leveraging a dynamic panel data model and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) for estimation, the study addresses endogeneity concerns while exploring the effects of firm-specific and macroeconomic variables on dividend yields. The investigation delineates three distinct economic phases: normal conditions, financial crises, and the aggregate study period, facilitating a granular understanding of firms’ dividend payout adaptability under varying economic landscapes. Empirical findings underscore the persistence of dividend payments, revealing a variable adjustment speed toward target dividend yields contingent upon the economic context, with an expedited adjustment observed during crises. Crucially, firm profitability emerges as a consistent determinant of dividend yields across all examined periods, whereas the influence of macroeconomic variables is notably more pronounced during periods of economic normalcy. This research elucidates the complex interplay between internal corporate strategies and external economic pressures in shaping dividend policies, thereby enriching the discourse on dividend payout behavior in the context of Korea’s economic evolution from an emerging to a developed market. Full article

Global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions has become a worldwide environmental problem, posing a great threat to human survival. As the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, China has pledged to reach peak carbon emissions by no later than 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. It is found that a carbon tax is a powerful incentive to reduce carbon emissions and promote an energy revolution, but it may have negative socio-economic impacts. Therefore, based on China’s 2020 input–output table, this paper systematically investigates the impacts of a carbon tax on China’s economy, carbon emissions, and energy by applying a computable general equilibrium model to determine the ideal equilibrium between socio-economic and environmental objectives. Based on energy use characteristics, we subdivided the energy sector into five major sectors: coal, oil, natural gas, thermal power generation, and clean power. The results show that when the carbon emission reduction target is less than 15%, that is, when the equilibrium carbon tax price is less than 54 yuan/ton, the implementation of a carbon tax policy can significantly reduce carbon emission and fossil fuel energy consumption, while only slightly reducing economic growth rate, and can achieve the double dividend of environment and economy. Moreover, because the reduction of coal consumption has the greatest impact on reducing carbon emissions, the ad valorem tax rate on coal after the carbon tax is imposed is the highest because coal has the highest carbon emission coefficient among fossil fuels. In addition, as an emerging clean energy source, hydrogen energy is the ideal energy storage medium for achieving clean power generation in power systems. If hydrogen energy can be vigorously developed, it is expected to greatly accelerate the deep decarbonization of power, industry, transportation, construction, and other fields. Full article

The purpose of this study is to determine if the impact of transparency and disclosure (TD) levels on shareholders’ current income (dividends) is moderated by technical efficiency (te) and profitability. The study employs econometrics on panel data from 78 BSE-listed enterprises across the 2016–2020 sample period. This conclusion suggests that when TD grows, dividends tend to drop initially, but above a certain threshold level, growing TD levels lead to increased payouts. Furthermore, dividends are adversely associated with the moderating variable “te” in terms of both constant and variable return to scale. On the other hand, moderation by profitability was shown to have a substantially favourable effect on dividends. According to this study, a company’s dividend policy is influenced by its TD levels, which are controlled by its efficiency and profitability. Developing a TD index provides more information on the efficacy of the corporate governance (CG) system. The study’s distinctiveness lies in examining the relationships between transparency, disclosures, and these aspects as they relate to profitability, efficiency, and dividend distribution choices to ascertain whether the companies’ operating effectiveness and financial success matter in this circumstance. The study’s practical and policy implications relate to societal repercussions, which include encouraging more openness and responsibility in business practices, thereby increasing confidence and accountability in decisions about dividend distribution, regardless of efficiency and profitability. The study’s originality is in examining how profitability, efficiency, and dividend distribution decisions relate to transparency and disclosures to determine if companies’ operating efficiency and financial success matter in this situation. Full article

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of cash distribution options by critically considering the effects of earnings, dividends, firm size, and economic value added. The distribution of cash dividends to shareholders serves as a basic means by which shareholders receive returns on their investments, so it is essential to examine share repurchases alongside dividends to enhance management’s efforts in maximising shareholder value. This study utilised panel data from 52 companies listed on the Johannesburg Security Exchange (JSE) that engaged in open market share repurchases for at least 2 years between 2000 and 2019. The data were extracted from the IRESS database. The panel data regression model was fitted with the ordinary least squares (OLS), difference generalised moment method (Diff-GMM), system generalised moment method (Sys-GMM), and least-squares dummy variable correction estimator (LSDVC). The findings revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the earnings per share and the payoff flexibility, implying that there was an inherent flexibility of repurchases as a payout option in the sampled firms. Additionally, the study revealed a significant negative relationship between the firm size, economic value added, and payoff flexibility. This suggests that larger companies tend to distribute a lower proportion of their earnings as share repurchases and opt for higher cash dividends instead. The implications of these findings provide financial managers with valuable insights into the role of share repurchases as a cash distribution choice. By recognising share repurchases as a viable option, financial managers can enhance their efforts to create and maximise shareholder value, particularly in emerging market settings. This evidence should encourage financial managers to recognise share repurchases more as a distribution choice, diffusing the tension regarding share repurchases replacing the payment of cash dividends and some doubt that they may not possess attributes complimentary to cash dividends. The study recommended relevant academic, industry, and policy implications in the South African context. Full article

This paper aims to provide a retrospective assessment of Ukraine’s state policy concerning state-owned banks and evaluate their impact on the sustainability of Ukraine’s public finances. The research methodology employs an empirical study of the cash flow of public funds to state-owned banks and the reverse cash flow to determine the impact of the activity and stability of public finances. The cash flow to state-owned banks includes the expenditure of public funds for the creation of authorised capital during the establishment of state-owned banks, the acquisition of shares in operating commercial banks, additional capitalisation of state-owned banks, etc. The reverse cash flow comprises dividends paid based on the performance of state-owned banks, as well as revenue generated for public funds through the sale of shares (privatisation) of state-owned banks. This study highlights the costs associated with recapitalising state-owned banks. These costs disrupt the stability of public finances, create additional debt dependency for Ukraine, impose an additional burden on public finances, and lead to structural changes that reduce funding for social spending. As a result, Ukrainian taxpayers are financing the inefficient activities of state-owned banks while experiencing reduced investments in education, healthcare, social protection, environmental protection, and other essential areas. Full article

The recent literature provides conflicting findings and remains inconclusive regarding the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on firms’ dividend policies. In this paper, we examine the dividend policy of Moroccan firms listed in the Casablanca Stock Exchange during the COVID-19 shock. Using panel data from 2015 to 2021 of non-financial listed firms, we observe that the proportion of dividend cuts during the last seven years (2015–2021) achieved its highest level on the onset of the crisis. Furthermore, results of the ordinary least square (OLS) regressions demonstrate that the COVID-19 shock has negatively affected the dividend payout of Moroccan listed firms. This study implies that, in times of economic crisis, Moroccan firms exhibit risk-averse behavior by prioritizing the retention of earnings over distributing dividends, scarifying, therefore, the transmission of positive signals to investors and external stakeholders. Furthermore, our results reveal that profitability, growth opportunities, leverage, and size are relevant determinants of corporate dividend policy. Full article

The existence of benefit distribution unfairness may lead to problems such as resettlement conflicts, which have become the bottleneck of sustainable development of water resources in many countries. Exploring and establishing equitable benefit sharing systems are the resolving approach, but there is still the lack of quantitative analysis tools for benefit distribution. From the perspective of benefit sharing, this study designs specific quantitative methods to determine land compensation prices that migrants deserve and makes a case analysis of two projects in China. Results suggest the following: (1) Fair compensation calculated by the input dividend method is the product of the proportion of agricultural land investment and the net income of the project, while the value summation method takes the sum of the agricultural land value, social security value and average value-added distribution as the compensation price. (2) The cases demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed methods. (3) Current policy compensation is lower than the calculated compensation, and there are insufficient migrants participating in benefit sharing in China. By referring to the estimated value of the two methods, governments or development enterprises can reasonably improve the compensation standard or provide additional follow-up support to increase the welfare of migrants, which is expected to achieve a relatively balanced allocation of benefits and realize a win-win situation. Full article

Carbon emission reduction is an important goal of China’s sustainable economic development. As a new urbanization construction model, the importance of smart city construction for economic growth and innovation is recognized by the academic community. The impact of smart cities on the environment, especially on carbon emission reductions, has yet to be verified. This has implications for the green and low-carbon transformation of China, the realization of the peak carbon and carbon neutrality goals and the effectiveness of smart city pilot policies. For these reasons, this paper utilizes China’s urban panel data, and using the difference-in-difference method, investigates the smart city pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment of new urbanization construction and its impact on urban carbon emission reductions. The results are summarized as follows: (1) Smart city construction has reduced the carbon emissions of pilot cities by about 4.36% compared with non-pilot cities. (2) The dynamic impact analysis found that the carbon emission reduction effect of smart city construction tends not to be effective until the third year of the implementation of the policy, that the policy effect gradually increases over time, and that its carbon emission reduction dividend has a long-term sustainability. (3) The analysis of the influence mechanisms determined that smart city construction mainly promotes urban carbon emission reduction through three paths, including improving technology innovation capacity, enhancing the attraction of foreign direct investment, and accelerating the upgrading of industrial structure. (4) The heterogeneity analysis indicates that smart city construction has stronger carbon emission reduction effects in the “two control zones”, non-old industrial bases and non-resource-based cities. Full article

This research examines how the banking industry maintains its sustainable growth rate. The sample consists of 328 commercial banks in the ASEAN area. A fixed effect model is employed to analyze the data. The study reveals several findings: (1) The countries with the most risk in the banking industry are Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. (2) Operational risk has a negative effect on sustainable growth and a positive effect on actual growth. Asset utilization positively affects sustainable growth and positively affects actual growth. (3) Business risk has a positive effect on sustainable growth but a negative on actual growth. (4) Liquidity risk positively affects both sustainable growth and actual growth. (5) Financial risk has a negative effect on sustainable growth but not on actual growth. These findings contribute to the body of knowledge of financial management specifically in terms of determining dividend and financing policy, operational activities and bridging conflicting objectives of managers and shareholders. Furthermore, these findings have implications for the practice, especially for shareholders, in how to maintain and set sustainable growth targets in conditions of various risks in banking. For banks within the framework of ASEAN integration, it is important to place SGR as a measure of sustainable finance. Full article

The rapid development of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the construction industry poses an enormous and negative challenge for China’s energy and environment. While maintaining moderate economic growth, it is particularly important to realize energy conservation and carbon reduction. Carbon tax policy, a direct tool to reduce carbon emissions, can effectively alleviate the environmental issues caused by construction activities. However, relying solely on a single method is insufficient to handle the complicated circumstances of China’s construction industry. This study explores the influence of carbon tax on the construction industry through adjustments to tax rates via developing a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model. Then, it analyzes how the carbon tax affects the economic and environmental variables by designing scenarios for recycling tax revenue and improved energy efficiency. The results indicate that the carbon tax rate of 40 RMB/t-CO₂ is the most appropriate. At this tax level, the negative impacts of energy demand and emissions reduction on macroeconomy and construction industry are minimized. It was also determined that carbon tax revenue recycling to households and sectoral investment will realize the “weak double dividend” effect on the construction industry. Furthermore, improving energy efficiency in the construction industry will demonstrate the additional advantages of carbon tax. This study serves as a theoretical foundation for the Chinese government to develop various energy strategies to achieve low-carbon development in the construction industry. Full article

This article investigates the determinants of dividend policy on the Casablanca stock exchange. The variables tested were based on the main theories of dividend policy, and the fixed effect model was used to test panel data over a period of 16 years from 2003 to 2018. The eight independent variables tested were profitability, firm size, retained earnings, firm age, leverage, growth opportunities, price to earnings (P/E) and a dummy variable introduced for financial companies. To corroborate the results, two proxies were used to test the dependent variable: dividend yield and payout ratio. The results led to the identification of three significant determinants of dividend policy, which are firm age, growth opportunities and firm size. The negative correlation between the variables of firm size and firm age with dividend policy is explained by signaling theory. On the other hand, the negative correlation between growth opportunities and dividend payments is predicted by different theories, such as agency theory, financial flexibility theory and life cycle theory. This study provides insights for investors, analysts and researchers into dividend policy determinants on the Casablanca stock exchange based on firms’ characteristic variables. Full article

It aims to study the production and emission reduction decisions of production enterprises under carbon constraints. In the case of carbon constraints in production, manufacturers have four strategic choices: production within the carbon quota, adopting emission reduction technologies, purchasing carbon emission rights, and using emission reduction technologies and purchasing carbon emission rights. Based on the income model of production enterprises under four different strategies, first, under the condition of maximizing the interests of production enterprises, the optimal profit, optimal production, optimal total carbon emission, and optimal emission reduction rate under different carbon constraints are determined, and summarize its laws. Afterward, in order to further optimize corporate profits, the impact of changes in the carbon reduction scale cost and consumers’ low-carbon preference was studied. Several important conclusions are shown as follows. First, the stricter the carbon constraint policy, the greater the optimal emission reduction rate of enterprises. Second, the adoption of emission reduction technology can effectively reduce the impact of carbon constraint on output. Third, the optimal strategy is to both reduce emissions and purchase carbon emission rights, which can realize environmental economic dividends. Fourth, the lower the cost factor of the carbon reduction scale and the higher the low-carbon preference of consumers, the easier it is for firms to achieve carbon sufficiency in their production. Full article

This research investigates the impact of crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the dividend policy of green index companies in Indonesia, namely the Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) by Biodiversity (KEHATI) Foundation, or SRI-KEHATI indexed companies. The purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from companies listed from 2014 to 2020, using static and dynamic panel data models. From the several panel data models tested, the static panel data regression with random effects model (REM) and fixed effect model (FEM) uses the least square dummy variable-robust standard error (LSDV-RSE) technique are the best econometric models feasible. The system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) is used as a suitable econometric model with a robustness test used to determine static panel data regression. It is reported that SRI-KEHATI indexed companies tend to distribute dividends positively during this crisis, and is also statistically proven robust. This gives a positive signal to the capital market concerning the sluggish trading activity. The market reaction test, using two-approaches, showed that this business did not provide a positive reaction to the capital market, which turned out to be pessimistic. Furthermore, profitability and financial leverage have a robust effect, while dividends from the previous year affect dividend policy on the static panel data model, and firm size affect dividend policy on SYS-GMM. Predictors that proved influential with a direction not in line with the hypothesis were investment opportunities on REM and SYS-GMM, and firm age on SYS-GMM. The parameter estimation that passes the model specification test is feasible, whiles the biased and inconsistency of parameter estimation due to the alleged correlation between $u_{i,t}$ and $PY{D}_{i,t}$ failed to occur in static panel data regression. The endogeneity issue was resolved by dynamic panel data regression with the strongest corrective effect. This research can be used as a reference for investors to obtain optimal returns on green index companies in the country. An optimal dividend policy can increase the value of the SRI-KEHATI indexed companies; therefore, it can contribute optimally to sustainability and responsibility for social and environmental aspects. Full article