TY - JOUR
T1 - Dividend smoothing when firms distribute most of their earnings as dividends
AU - Al-Yahyaee, K. H.
AU - Pham, T. M.
AU - Walter, T. S.
PY - 2011/8
Y1 - 2011/8
N2 - Due to its distinctive institutional background, Oman offers a valuable opportunity to investigate the stability of the dividend policy. In Oman, (1) there are no taxes on dividends, (2) firms are highly levered mainly through bank loans, (3) there is a high concentration of stock ownership and (4) there is variability in cash dividend payments. These factors suggest a diminished role of dividend smoothing in Oman. Our results show that Omani financial firms have erratic dividend policies. These results are inconsistent with the predictions suggested by the relatively weak corporate governance, government ownership and dividend signalling.
AB - Due to its distinctive institutional background, Oman offers a valuable opportunity to investigate the stability of the dividend policy. In Oman, (1) there are no taxes on dividends, (2) firms are highly levered mainly through bank loans, (3) there is a high concentration of stock ownership and (4) there is variability in cash dividend payments. These factors suggest a diminished role of dividend smoothing in Oman. Our results show that Omani financial firms have erratic dividend policies. These results are inconsistent with the predictions suggested by the relatively weak corporate governance, government ownership and dividend signalling.
KW - Bank debt
KW - Dividend smoothing
KW - Government ownership
KW - Taxes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79960885984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79960885984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09603107.2011.566177
DO - 10.1080/09603107.2011.566177
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79960885984
SN - 0960-3107
VL - 21
SP - 1175
EP - 1183
JO - Applied Financial Economics
JF - Applied Financial Economics
IS - 16
ER -