Does board gender diversity influence dividend policy? Evidence from France

Pornsit Jiraporn (), Mondher Bouattour (), Amal Hamrouni () and Ali Uyar ()
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Pornsit Jiraporn: Pennsylvania State University, Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies
Mondher Bouattour: La Rochelle Business School, Excelia Group, CERIIM & LGCO -University of Toulouse, France
Amal Hamrouni: La Rochelle Business School_Excelia Group CEREGE (EA1722)_University of Poitiers, France
Ali Uyar: La Rochelle Business School, Excelia Group, CERIIM, France

Economics Bulletin, 2019, vol. 39, issue 4, 2942-2954

Abstract: Prior research shows that board gender diversity helps improve board quality and effectiveness. Using a sample of French companies, we find that board gender diversity leads to a stronger probability for firm to pay dividends as well as to larger dividends. Our results are consistent with the notion that female directors improve the monitoring function of the board, thereby forcing managers to disgorge more cash out in the form of larger dividends. The free cash flow problem is mitigated as larger dividends reduce the free cash flow left inside the firm that could be exploited by opportunistic managers.

Keywords: board gender diversity; female directors; dividends; dividend policy; corporate governance. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G1 G3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-12-21
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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