IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v41y2016icp156-178.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do labor unions affect firm payout policy?: Operating leverage and rent extraction effects

Author

Listed:
  • Chino, Atsushi

Abstract

While previous literature documents weak effects of unionization on payout policy on average, we find that this average relationship hides significant heterogeneous effects of unionization on payouts across firms that depend on firm profitability. The effect of unionization on payouts is negative for low-profitability firms but positive for high-profitability firms. We posit that labor unions (i) increase operating risk, which negatively affects payouts, but (ii) increase potential for rent extraction from unions, which could induce shareholders to demand positive payouts. Higher profitability mitigates the negative effect while strengthening the positive effect, making the relation between unionization and payouts less negative or more positive. We provide evidence consistent with both the negative and positive effects of unionization on payouts. Our empirical design mitigates endogeneity concerns. Further, an instrumental variable analysis and a cross-sectional test using right-to-work laws confirm that endogeneity is unlikely to drive our results.

Suggested Citation

  • Chino, Atsushi, 2016. "Do labor unions affect firm payout policy?: Operating leverage and rent extraction effects," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 156-178.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:41:y:2016:i:c:p:156-178
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.08.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119916301158
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.08.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agrawal, Ashwini K. & Matsa, David A., 2013. "Labor unemployment risk and corporate financing decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 449-470.
    2. Richard Chung & Bryan Byung-Hee Lee & Woo-Jong Lee & Byungcherl Charlie Sohn, 2016. "Do Managers Withhold Good News from Labor Unions?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(1), pages 46-68, January.
    3. Olga Kuzmina, 2013. "Operating Flexibility and Capital Structure: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Working Papers w0197, New Economic School (NES).
    4. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2001. "Disappearing Dividends: Changing Firm Characteristics Or Lower Propensity To Pay?," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 14(1), pages 67-79, March.
    5. Barry T. Hirsch, 1982. "The Interindustry Structure of Unionism, Earnings, and Earnings Dispersion," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(1), pages 22-39, October.
    6. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda, 1991. "Union negotiations and corporate policy *1: A study of labor concessions in the domestic steel industry during the 1980s," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 3-43, November.
    7. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Skinner, Douglas J., 2009. "Corporate Payout Policy," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 3(2–3), pages 95-287, April.
    8. David S. Lee & Alexandre Mas, 2012. "Long-Run Impacts of Unions on Firms: New Evidence from Financial Markets, 1961--1999," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 333-378.
    9. Gerard Hoberg & Nagpurnanand R. Prabhala, 2009. "Disappearing Dividends, Catering, and Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 79-116, January.
    10. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    11. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    12. Chay, J.B. & Suh, Jungwon, 2009. "Payout policy and cash-flow uncertainty," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 88-107, July.
    13. John, Kose & Knyazeva, Anzhela & Knyazeva, Diana, 2015. "Employee rights and acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 49-69.
    14. Skinner, Douglas J., 2008. "The evolving relation between earnings, dividends, and stock repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 582-609, March.
    15. Michael Faulkender & Rong Wang, 2006. "Corporate Financial Policy and the Value of Cash," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1957-1990, August.
    16. Akyol, Ali C. & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2013. "Human capital costs, firm leverage, and unemployment rates," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 464-481.
    17. Stephen G. Bronars & Donald R. Deere, 1991. "The Threat of Unionization, the Use of Debt, and the Preservation of Shareholder Wealth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(1), pages 231-254.
    18. Barry T. Hirsch, 1980. "The Determinants of Unionization: An Analysis of Interarea Differences," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 33(2), pages 147-161, January.
    19. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Stulz, Rene M., 2006. "Dividend policy and the earned/contributed capital mix: a test of the life-cycle theory," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 227-254, August.
    20. Hirsch, Barry T, 1991. "Union Coverage and Profitability among U.S. Firms," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(1), pages 69-77, February.
    21. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    22. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    23. Han, Seungjin & Qiu, Jiaping, 2007. "Corporate precautionary cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 43-57, March.
    24. Klasa, Sandy & Maxwell, William F. & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán, 2009. "The strategic use of corporate cash holdings in collective bargaining with labor unions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 421-442, June.
    25. Jarrad Harford & Sattar A. Mansi & William F. Maxwell, 2012. "Corporate Governance and Firm Cash Holdings in the U.S," Springer Books, in: Sabri Boubaker & Bang Dang Nguyen & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance, edition 127, pages 107-138, Springer.
    26. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐de‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2000. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 1-33, February.
    27. Mandelker, Gershon N. & Rhee, S. Ghon, 1984. "The Impact of the Degrees of Operating and Financial Leverage on Systematic Risk of Common Stock," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 45-57, March.
    28. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Joan Farre-Mensa & Roni Michaely & Martin Schmalz, 2014. "Payout Policy," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 75-134, December.
    30. Sheng-Syan Chen & Yan-Shing Chen & Yanzhi Wang, 2015. "Does Labor Power Affect the Likelihood of a Share Repurchase?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 623-653, September.
    31. Brav, Alon & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Michaely, Roni, 2005. "Payout policy in the 21st century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 483-527, September.
    32. Toni M. Whited & Guojun Wu, 2006. "Financial Constraints Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 531-559.
    33. Perotti, Enrico C & Spier, Kathryn E, 1993. "Capital Structure as a Bargaining Tool: The Role of Leverage in Contract Renegotiation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1131-1141, December.
    34. Chen, Yan-Shing & Chen, I-Ju, 2013. "The impact of labor unions on investment-cash flow sensitivity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 2408-2418.
    35. David A. Matsa, 2010. "Capital Structure as a Strategic Variable: Evidence from Collective Bargaining," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1197-1232, June.
    36. Chen, Huafeng Jason & Kacperczyk, Marcin & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán, 2011. "Labor Unions, Operating Flexibility, and the Cost of Equity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 25-58, February.
    37. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    38. Easterbrook, Frank H, 1984. "Two Agency-Cost Explanations of Dividends," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 650-659, September.
    39. Jonathan B. Berk & Richard Stanton & Josef Zechner, 2010. "Human Capital, Bankruptcy, and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 891-926, June.
    40. Chemmanur, Thomas J. & Cheng, Yingmei & Zhang, Tianming, 2013. "Human capital, capital structure, and employee pay: An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 478-502.
    41. Chen, Tsung-Kang & Chen, Yan-Shing & Liao, Hsien-Hsing, 2011. "Labor unions, bargaining power and corporate bond yield spreads: Structural credit model perspectives," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 2084-2098, August.
    42. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:2:p:651-680 is not listed on IDEAS
    43. Amihud, Yakov & Li, Kefei, 2006. "The Declining Information Content of Dividend Announcements and the Effects of Institutional Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 637-660, September.
    44. Kim, Chang-Soo & Mauer, David C. & Sherman, Ann E., 1998. "The Determinants of Corporate Liquidity: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 335-359, September.
    45. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2004. "Economic Impacts of Unionization on Private Sector Employers: 1984-2001," NBER Working Papers 10598, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    46. Barry T. Hirsch, 1991. "Labor Unions and the Economic Performance of Unions," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number luepf, November.
    47. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    48. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda, 1990. "Dividend Policy and Financial Distress: An Empirical Investigation of Troubled NYSE Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(5), pages 1415-1431, December.
    49. Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely & Bhaskaran Swaminathan, 2002. "Are Dividend Changes a Sign of Firm Maturity?," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(3), pages 387-424, July.
    50. Dalia Marciukaityte, 2015. "Right-to-Work Laws and Financial Leverage," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(1), pages 147-175, March.
    51. Elena Simintzi & Vikrant Vig & Paolo Volpin, 2015. "Labor Protection and Leverage," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 561-591.
    52. Chyz, James A. & Ching Leung, Winnie Siu & Zhen Li, Oliver & Meng Rui, Oliver, 2013. "Labor unions and tax aggressiveness," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 675-698.
    53. John DiNardo & David S. Lee, 2004. "Economic Impacts of New Unionization on Private Sector Employers: 1984–2001," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1383-1441.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Keishi Fujiyama & Makoto Kuroki, 2017. "Strategic Management Forecasts and Accounting Choices: A Case of Employee Downsizing in Japan," Discussion Paper Series DP2017-06, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Sep 2017.
    2. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Kowalewski, Oskar, 2021. "Collective bargaining power and corporate cash policy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Saeed, Abubakr, 2021. "The impact of employee friendly practices on dividend payments: Evidence from emerging economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 592-605.
    4. Kopel, Michael & Petrakis, Emmanuel & Ressi, Anna, 2019. "Endogenous scope of firm-union bargaining with vertical pay comparisons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 39-52.
    5. Brockman, Paul & Luo, Juan & Xu, Limin, 2020. "The impact of short-selling pressure on corporate employee relations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Dang, Viet A. & De Cesari, Amedeo & Phan, Hieu V., 2021. "Employment protection and share repurchases: Evidence from wrongful discharge laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Pezone, Vincenzo, 2017. "Unemployment Risk and Payout Policies," MPRA Paper 83918, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Chi, Yung-Ling, 2022. "Owners’ portfolio diversification and internal capital allocation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Ertugrul, Mine & Marciukaityte, Dalia, 2021. "Labor unions and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    10. Chen, I-Ju & Chen, Yan-Shing & Chen, Sheng-Syan, 2018. "The strategic choice of payment method in corporate acquisitions: The role of collective bargaining against unionized workers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 408-422.
    11. In‐Mu Haw & Bingbing Hu & Donghui Wu & Xu Zhang, 2018. "Having a Finger in the Pie: Labor Power and Corporate Payout Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 993-1027, December.
    12. Unsal, Omer & Brodmann, Jennifer, 2019. "Workplace environment and payout policy," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    13. Huynh, Nhan, 2023. "Unemployment beta and the cross-section of stock returns: Evidence from Australia," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    14. Hou, Qingsong & Tang, Xiaofang & Teng, Min, 2021. "Labor costs and financialization of real sectors in emerging markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    15. Chang, Ching-Hung & Chen, Sheng-Syan & Chen, Yan-Shing & Peng, Shu-Cing, 2019. "Commitment to build trust by socially responsible firms: Evidence from cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 364-387.
    16. Özgür Arslan‐Ayaydin & James Thewissen & Wouter Torsin, 2021. "Disclosure tone management and labor unions," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 102-147, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dang, Viet A. & De Cesari, Amedeo & Phan, Hieu V., 2021. "Employment protection and share repurchases: Evidence from wrongful discharge laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. Schmalz, Martin, 2018. "Unionization, Cash, and Leverage," CEPR Discussion Papers 12595, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. In‐Mu Haw & Bingbing Hu & Donghui Wu & Xu Zhang, 2018. "Having a Finger in the Pie: Labor Power and Corporate Payout Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 993-1027, December.
    4. Kim, Jeong-Bon & Zhang, Eliza Xia & Zhong, Kai, 2021. "Does unionization affect the manager–shareholder conflict? Evidence from firm-specific stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    5. David A. Matsa, 2018. "Capital Structure and a Firm’s Workforce," NBER Working Papers 25125, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. James, Hui & Benson, Bradley W. & Wu, Chen (Ken), 2017. "Does CEO ownership affect payout policy? Evidence from using CEO scaled wealth-performance sensitivity," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 328-345.
    7. Beuselinck, Christof & Markarian, Garen & Verriest, Arnt, 2021. "Employee protection shocks and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    8. Karpuz, Ahmet & Kim, Kirak & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2020. "Employment protection laws and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    9. Ghaly, Mohamed & Kostakis, Alexandros & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2021. "The (non-) effect of labor unionization on firm risk: Evidence from the options market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Jiang, Jiaoliang & Chen, Yulin, 2021. "How does labor protection influence corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Zhenxu Tong, 2015. "Labor Unions and Forms of Corporate Liquidity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7-8), pages 1007-1039, September.
    12. Smith, Deborah Drummond & Pennathur, Anita K. & Marciniak, Marek R., 2017. "Why do CEOs agree to the discipline of dividends?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 38-48.
    13. Unsal, Omer & Brodmann, Jennifer, 2019. "Workplace environment and payout policy," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    14. Andriosopoulos, Dimitris & Hoque, Hafiz, 2013. "The determinants of share repurchases in Europe," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 65-76.
    15. Woods, Keegan & Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng & Faff, Robert, 2019. "Labor unions and corporate financial leverage: The bargaining device versus crowding-out hypotheses," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 28-44.
    16. Booth, Laurence & Zhou, Jun, 2017. "Dividend policy: A selective review of results from around the world," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-15.
    17. Chantziaras, Antonios & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Leventis, Stergios, 2020. "The impact of labor unionization on monitoring costs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 288-307.
    18. Jun Chen & Jamie Y. Tong & Wenming Wang & Feida Zhang, 2019. "The Economic Consequences of Labor Unionization: Evidence from Stock Price Crash Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 775-796, July.
    19. Woon Sau Leung & Jing Li & Jiong Sun, 2020. "Labor Unionization and Supply‐Chain Partners’ Performance," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(5), pages 1325-1353, May.
    20. John, Kose & Knyazeva, Anzhela & Knyazeva, Diana, 2015. "Governance and Payout Precommitment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 101-117.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:41:y:2016:i:c:p:156-178. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcorpfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.