A Theory of Dividends Based on Tax Clienteles
解释为何一些公司偏好支付股利而非回购股票。当机构投资者税负低于个人投资者时，股利会产生“所有权客户群”效应，支付股利的公司吸引更多机构，后者在识别公司质量和确保良好管理方面有相对优势。该理论与股利的存在性和粘性等规律一致，并预测决定股利支付的是机构与散户的税差而非绝对税负。
This paper explains why some firms prefer to pay dividends rather than repurchase shares. When institutional investors are relatively less taxed than individual investors, dividends induce “ownership clientele” effects. Firms paying dividends attract relatively more institutions, which have a relative advantage in detecting high firm quality and in ensuring firms are well managed. The theory is consistent with some documented regularities, specifically both the presence and stickiness of dividends, and offers novel empirical implications, e.g., a prediction that it is the tax difference between institutions and retail investors that determines dividend payments, not the absolute tax payments.