Payout Policy
综述了派息政策文献，重点近二十年发展。传统动机中代理问题解释力最强，2003年股息税减税影响有限，回购取代股息成为主要派息方式，薪酬和管理激励等新动机更能解释时间变化，派息决策应视为公司金融生态的一部分。
We survey the literature on payout policy, with a particular emphasis on developments in the past two decades. The cross-sectional empirical evidence for the traditional motivations behind firms paying out (agency, signaling, and taxes) is most persuasive with regard to agency considerations. Studies centered on the May 2003 dividend tax cut confirm that differences in the taxation of dividends and capital gains have only a second-order impact on setting payout policy. None of the three traditional explanations can account for secular changes in how payouts have been made over the past 30 years, during which repurchases have replaced dividends as the prime vehicle for corporate payouts. Other payout motivations, such as changes in compensation practices and management incentives, are better able to explain the observed variation in payout patterns over time than the traditional motivations. The most recent evidence suggests that further insights can be gained from viewing payout decisions as an integral part of a firm’s larger financial ecosystem, with important implications for financing, investment, and risk management.