IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finsta/v69y2023ics1572308923000864.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social capital and dividend policies in US corporations

Author

Listed:
  • Hoi, Chun Keung
  • Ke, Yun
  • Wu, Qiang
  • Zhang, Hao

Abstract

We find that social capital, as captured by associational networks and social norms in US counties where corporate headquarters are located, is positively associated with cash dividend payouts in local firms. The positive effect is incremental to other known local factors affecting dividends, is robust to a range of sensitivity analyses, and extends to corporate decisions about whether to pay dividends or not. Social capital mitigates managerial private financial incentives to limit dividends and encourages higher dividends among firms facing greater free cash flow problems. Social capital also attenuates over-investment of free cash flow.

Suggested Citation

  • Hoi, Chun Keung & Ke, Yun & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2023. "Social capital and dividend policies in US corporations," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finsta:v:69:y:2023:i:c:s1572308923000864
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfs.2023.101186
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1572308923000864
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfs.2023.101186?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. Paolo Buonanno & Daniel Montolio & Paolo Vanin, 2009. "Does Social Capital Reduce Crime?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(1), pages 145-170, February.
    2. Davaadorj, Zagdbazar, 2019. "Does social capital affect dividend policy?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 116-128.
    3. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    4. Knack, Stephen, 1992. "Civic norms, social sanctions and voting turnout," MPRA Paper 28080, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Lang, Larry H. P. & Stulz, ReneM. & Walkling, Ralph A., 1991. "A test of the free cash flow hypothesis*1: The case of bidder returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 315-335, October.
    6. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2017_021 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jagannathan, Murali & Stephens, Clifford P. & Weisbach, Michael S., 2000. "Financial flexibility and the choice between dividends and stock repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 355-384, September.
    8. Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely, 2002. "Dividends, Share Repurchases, and the Substitution Hypothesis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1649-1684, August.
    9. Rupasingha, Anil & Goetz, Stephan J. & Freshwater, David, 2006. "The production of social capital in US counties," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 83-101, February.
    10. La Porta, Rafael, et al, 1997. "Trust in Large Organizations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 333-338, May.
    11. 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.
    12. Grennan, Jillian, 2019. "Dividend payments as a response to peer influence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(3), pages 549-570.
    13. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    14. Laura Kawano, 2014. "The Dividend Clientele Hypothesis: Evidence from the 2003 Tax Act," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 114-136, February.
    15. Hoi, Chun Keung(Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does social capital mitigate agency problems? Evidence from Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 498-519.
    16. Spagnolo, Giancarlo, 1999. "Social relations and cooperation in organizations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-25, January.
    17. 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.
    18. Delis, Manthos D. & Mylonidis, Nikolaos, 2015. "Trust, happiness, and households’ financial decisions," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 82-92.
    19. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:3:p:1125-1165 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 526-556, June.
    21. Hasan, Iftekhar & Hoi, Chun Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2017. "Social Capital and Debt Contracting: Evidence from Bank Loans and Public Bonds," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(3), pages 1017-1047, June.
    22. John, Kose & Knyazeva, Anzhela & Knyazeva, Diana, 2011. "Does geography matter? Firm location and corporate payout policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 533-551, September.
    23. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2010. "Civic Capital as the Missing Link," NBER Working Papers 15845, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Lambert, Richard A. & Lanen, William N. & Larcker, David F., 1989. "Executive Stock Option Plans and Corporate Dividend Policy," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(4), pages 409-425, December.
    25. Lederman, Daniel & Loayza, Norman & Menendez, Ana Maria, 2002. "Violent Crime: Does Social Capital Matter?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(3), pages 509-539, April.
    26. Colak, Gonul & Liljeblom, Eva, 2022. "Easy cleanups or forbearing improvements: The effect of CEO tenure on successor’s performance," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    27. Chun Keung Hoi & Qiang Wu & Hao Zhang, 2018. "Community Social Capital and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 647-665, October.
    28. Nada Kobeissi & Iftekhar Hasan & Bo Wang & Haizhi Wang & Desheng Yin, 2023. "Social capital and regional innovation: evidence from private firms in the US," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 57-71, January.
    29. Jin, Dawei & Wang, Haizhi & Wang, Peng & Yin, Desheng, 2016. "Social trust and foreign ownership: Evidence from qualified foreign institutional investors in China," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-14.
    30. David S. Koo & Santhosh Ramalingegowda & Yong Yu, 2017. "The effect of financial reporting quality on corporate dividend policy," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 753-790, June.
    31. Jiang, Zhan & Kim, Kenneth A. & Lie, Erik & Yang, Sean, 2013. "Share repurchases, catering, and dividend substitution," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 36-50.
    32. Bo Becker & Zoran Ivković & Scott Weisbenner, 2011. "Local Dividend Clienteles," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(2), pages 655-683, April.
    33. Hasan, Iftekhar & (Stan) Hoi, Chun-Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2020. "Is social capital associated with corporate innovation? Evidence from publicly listed firms in the U.S," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    34. Michael S. Rozeff, 1982. "Growth, Beta And Agency Costs As Determinants Of Dividend Payout Ratios," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 5(3), pages 249-259, September.
    35. 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.
    36. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    37. Easterbrook, Frank H, 1984. "Two Agency-Cost Explanations of Dividends," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 650-659, September.
    38. John, Kose & Knyazeva, Anzhela & Knyazeva, Diana, 2015. "Governance and Payout Precommitment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 101-117.
    39. Jon Elster, 1998. "Emotions and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 47-74, March.
    40. Jin, Justin Yiqiang & Kanagaretnam, Kiridaran & Lobo, Gerald J. & Mathieu, Robert, 2017. "Social capital and bank stability," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 99-114.
    41. Kee H. Chung & Jang-Chul Kim & Young Sang Kim & Hao Zhang, 2015. "Information Asymmetry and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(9-10), pages 1341-1377, November.
    42. Iftekhar Hasan & Chun‐Keung (Stan) Hoi & Qiang Wu & Hao Zhang, 2017. "Does Social Capital Matter in Corporate Decisions? Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 629-668, June.
    43. Hasan, Iftekhar & Hoi, Chun-Keung (Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2017. "Does social capital matter in corporate decisions? Evidence from corporate tax avoidance," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 21/2017, Bank of Finland.
    44. Stephen Knack, 1992. "Civic Norms, Social Sanctions, and Voter Turnout," Rationality and Society, , vol. 4(2), pages 133-156, April.
    45. Erdem Ucar, 2016. "Local Culture and Dividends," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 45(1), pages 105-140, March.
    46. Christian, Bjørnskov, 2003. "Corruption and Social Capital," Working Papers 03-13, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    47. Afzali, Mansoor & Ҫolak, Gönül & Fu, Mengchuan, 2021. "Economic uncertainty and corruption: Evidence from public and private firms," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Habib, Ahsan, 2020. "Social capital and payout policies," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).
    2. Xudong An & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Ross Levine & Raluca Roman, 2023. "Social Capital and Mortgages," Working Papers 23-23, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    3. Chen, Yangyang & Duong, Huu Nhan & Goyal, Abhinav & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2023. "Social capital and the pricing of initial public offerings," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Tongxia Li & Chun Lu, 2023. "Local social environment and the speed of leverage adjustment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 1919-1952, June.
    5. Hossain, Ashrafee & Hossain, Takdir & Jha, Anand & Mougoué, Mbodja, 2023. "Credit ratings and social capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Ouyang, Puman & Zhong, Ligang, 2023. "Asset redeployability and dividend payout policy," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 91-105.
    7. James, Hui L., 2023. "Social capital and the riskiness of trade credit," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    8. Cave, Joshua & Lancheros, Sandra, 2024. "Local peer influence on dividend payout decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    9. David S. Koo & Santhosh Ramalingegowda & Yong Yu, 2017. "The effect of financial reporting quality on corporate dividend policy," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 753-790, June.
    10. Hasan, Iftekhar & (Stan) Hoi, Chun-Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2020. "Is social capital associated with corporate innovation? Evidence from publicly listed firms in the U.S," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    11. Hoi, Chun Keung(Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does social capital mitigate agency problems? Evidence from Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 498-519.
    12. Kershen Huang & Chenguang Shang, 2024. "Does informal governance matter to institutional investors? Evidence from social capital," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 59(2), pages 433-457, May.
    13. Zheng, Chen & Cheung, Adrian Wai Kong & Cronje, Tom, 2022. "Social capital and bank liquidity hoarding," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    14. 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.
    15. Sun, Liang & Yu, Huaibing, 2022. "The effects of busy board on firm’s probability to pay dividends," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    16. Tian, Yonggang & Ang, James S. & Fu, Panpan & Ma, Chaoqun & Wang, Xiuhua, 2024. "Does social trust mitigate insiders' opportunistic behaviors? Evidence from insider trading," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    17. Panta, Humnath, 2020. "Does social capital influence corporate risk-taking?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    18. Shahab, Yasir & Wang, Peng & Gull, Ammar Ali & Chen, Yugang & Ntim, Collins G., 2023. "Social trust and environmental performance in China: Does state ownership matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    19. Trinh, Quoc Dat & Haddad, Christian & Tran, Kim Thuan, 2022. "Financial reporting quality and dividend policy: New evidence from an international level," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    20. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Ahmed Khamis Al‐Hadi, 2023. "Consequences of local social norms: A review of the literature in accounting, finance, and corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 3-45, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social norms; Informal institutions; Payout policy; Free cash flow problem; Over-investment; Managerial opportunism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:finsta:v:69:y:2023:i:c:s1572308923000864. 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/jfstabil .

    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.