This article investigates the determinants of Dutch firms’ dividend policies in the twentieth century. We identify three distinct episodes and document shifts in dividend policies in the 1930s and 1980s, because firm managers cater to the changing preferences of shareholders. The first episode, prior to World War II, was characterised by dividends that were fixed contracts between shareholder and management and the payouts were mechanically determined by earnings. The second epoch of Dutch dividend policy, until the 1980s, was characterised by dividend smoothing. Dividends were still strongly related to earnings, but because of shareholder's preferences for stable dividend income, earnings changes are incorporated in dividends with a lag. Finally, dividend policy in the most recent episode is inspired by shareholder wealth maximisation, based on agency and signalling motives. In this period, dividends have become largely decoupled from earnings.

中文翻译：

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餐饮和分红政策：20世纪荷兰的证据

本文调查了 20 世纪荷兰公司股息政策的决定因素。我们确定了三个不同的事件并记录了 1930 年代和 1980 年代股息政策的转变，因为公司经理迎合了股东不断变化的偏好。第一集，在二战之前，其特点是股息是股东和管理层之间的固定合同，派息是由收益机械地决定的。直到 1980 年代，荷兰股息政策的第二个时期的特点是股息平滑。股息仍然与盈利密切相关，但由于股东对稳定股息收入的偏好，盈利变化会滞后地纳入股息。最后，最近一集中的股息政策受到股东财富最大化的启发，基于代理和信号动机。在此期间，股息已在很大程度上与收益脱钩。