Dividend policy theories and their empirical tests

The subject of corporate dividend policy has captivated economists for a long time, resulting in intensive theoretical modeling and empirical examinations. A number of conflicting theoretical models lacking strong empirical support define current attempts to explain the puzzling reality of corporate dividend behavior. The purpose of this paper is to determine if the method of analysis employed, sample period, and/or data frequency are responsible for this inconsistent support. The results presented here are consistent with the contention that no dividend model, either separately or jointly with other models, is supported invariably.