Dividend Policy of the ISE Industrial Corporations: The Evidence Revisited (1986-2007)

Abstract

The study aims to find out whether the disappearing dividends, the decline in the number of dividend payers, the size effect and the increasing dividend/earnings concentration found in several developed and emerging markets exist among the industrials traded in the ISE. The study also analyzes the effects of the reinstatement of mandatory dividend policy in 2003. Using univariate statistical tests, we detect a size effect as well as a high level but stable dividend/earnings concentration. We find a significant decrease in the number of dividend payers, but we also detect an increasing level of real/nominal dividends driven by the high dividend/earnings concentration and the increasing level of earnings. The reinstatement of the mandatory dividend policy regulation in 2003 has not been successful in changing the payout policy of industrials.