Dividends and dividend policy / [edited by] H. Kent Baker

Includes bibliographical references and index

Dividends and dividend policy : an overview -- The historical evolution of dividends -- Trends in dividends : payers and payouts -- Factors influencing dividends -- Cross-country determinants of payout policy : European firms -- Dividend irrelevance theory -- Residual dividend policy -- Taxes and clientele effects -- Agency costs and the free cash flow hypothesis -- Asymmetric information and signaling theory -- Behavioral explanations of dividends -- The firm life cycle theory of dividends -- The catering theory of dividends -- Stock repurchases : theory and evidence, part 1 -- Stock repurchases : theory and evidence, part 2 -- Stock repurchases and dividends : trade-offs and trends -- Beating the market with share buybacks -- Special dividends -- Stock splits, stock dividends, and reverse stock splits -- Dividend reinvestment plans -- Cash dividends and stock repurchases -- Stock splits, stock dividends, and dividend reinvestment plans -- Why individual and professional investors want dividends -- Why firms beging paying dividends : value, growth, and life cycle effects -- Dividend policy and corporate governance -- Dividend policy in regulated industries -- Dividend policy in a global perspective -- Divident policy in emerging markets