Does Dividend Policy Relate to Cross-Sectional Variation in Information Asymmetry? Evidence from Returns to Insider Trades
用内部人交易回报衡量信息不对称，发现持续高派息公司的内部人回报更低，表明高股利公司信息不对称程度更低，不支持传统股利信号模型。
We examine the relation between dividends and information asymmetry by using insider returns as a proxy for information asymmetry. We find that dividends are negatively related to returns to insider trades across firms. Firms that pay consistently high dividends have lower insider returns than do firms that pay consistently low dividends. These results do not support traditional dividend signaling models. Rather, they are consistent with the proposition that firms with the highest dividends have the lowest levels of information asymmetry.