Dividends and clientele effect: evidence in the brazilian market

Abstract

We investigated whether characteristics other than corporate operation, a proxy for clientele effect, marginally differentiated the dividend policies of 401 firms (2339 firm/years) traded on BM&Fbovespa in the period 1998-2010. A statistically significant association between the decision to declare dividends (and amounts) and the clientele effect was hypothesized. Following testing with logistic and TOBIT regressions, the hypothesis could not be conclusively rejected. The dividend policies of Brazilian firms to some extent support Miller and Modigliani’s (1961) proposition concerning the clientele effect and dividend decision. The impact of the latter is probably due to corporate governance issues and related to predominant mechanisms of financing in the Brazilian financial market.