Dividends, Share Repurchases, and the Substitution Hypothesis
发现美国公司不仅越来越多地通过回购支付现金，而且回购资金原本用于增加股息；年轻公司更倾向以回购启动现金支付，大公司虽未削减股息但也增加回购，表明回购正逐步替代股息。
ABSTRACT We show that repurchases have not only became an important form of payout for U.S. corporations, but also that firms finance their share repurchases with funds that otherwise would have been used to increase dividends. We find that young firms have a higher propensity to pay cash through repurchases than they did in the past and that repurchases have become the preferred form of initiating a cash payout. Although large, established firms have generally not cut their dividends, they also show a higher propensity to pay out cash through repurchases. These findings indicate that firms have gradually substituted repurchases for dividends. Our results also suggest that before 1983, regulatory constraints inhibited firms from aggressively repurchasing shares.