本文針對台灣證券交易所上市櫃公司進行股利平滑程度與決定其股利政策因素之研究。實證結果表明，台灣上市櫃公司之調整速度係數（Speed of Adjustment, SOA）為0.5174，若與針對已開發或新興國家進行研究之結果相比，台灣較其他新興國家能平滑股息，但平滑程度卻不比已開發國家多。目標股利發放率為71.30%，略低於實際股利發放率之79.90%，顯示台灣公司之投資人與經理人對股利有極高的關心。

本文進一步利用股利收益率與股利發放率來衡量股利政策，研究決定股利政策之因素。實證結果顯示，過去的股利、營收、代理成本、盈利能力、流動性與股利收益率呈現顯著正相關關係；投資機會、財務槓桿、本益比及未來資本支出則是顯著附相關關係。此外，過去的股利、現金持有量與股利發放率有顯著正相關關係；營收、財務槓桿則是顯著負相關關係。

The empirical result shows the speed of adjustment (SOA) coefficient is 0.5174 in Taiwan Stock Exchange listed firms. It is interesting to find out that Taiwanese firms smooth dividends more than other emerging countries compared to previous studies. The target payout ratio turned out to be 71.30% which is slightly lower than the actual payout ratio – 79.90%. A high payout ratio indicates investors and managers in Taiwanese firms take a high interest in dividend policy. Determinants of dividend policy are further studied by using dividend yield and dividend payout ratio to measure dividend policy. I find significant positive impact of lagged dividends, earnings, executive remuneration, profitability and liquidity, but significant negative impact of investment opportunities, leverage, P/E ratio and future capital expenditure on dividend yield. Besides, significant positive impact of lagged dividends and cash holdings, but significant negative impact of earnings and leverage on dividend payout ratio are found in this study.

Ahmed, H., & Javid, A. Y., The determinants of dividend policy in Pakistan, International Research Journal of Finance and Economics, No. 29, pp. 110-125, 2012.
Aivazian, V. A., Booth, L., & Cleary, S., Dividend smoothing and debt ratings, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 439-453, 2006.
Al-Najjar, B., & Belghitar, Y., Corporate cash holdings and dividend payments: Evidence from Simultaneous Analysis, Managerial and Decision Economics, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 231-241, 2010.
Al-Najjar, B., & Kilincarslan, E., Corporate dividend decisions and dividend smoothing, International Journal of Managerial Finance, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 304-331, 2017.
Amidu, M., & Abor, J., Determinants of dividend payout ratios in Ghana, The Journal of Risk Finance, Vol. 7, No.2, pp. 136-145, 2006.
Andres, C., Betzer, A., Goergen, M., & Renneboog, L., Dividend policy of German firms: A panel data analysis of partial adjustment models, Journal of Empirical Finance, Vol. 16, No.2, pp. 175-187, 2009.
Baker, H. K., Farrelly, G. E., & Edelman, R. B., A survey of management views on dividend policy, Financial Management, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1985.
Baker, M., & Wurgler, J., A catering theory of dividends, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 1125-1165, 2004.
Bhattacharya, S., Imperfect information, dividend policy, and “the bird in the hand” fallacy, The Bell Journal of Economics, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 259-170, 1979.
Bhattacharyya, N., Dividend policy: a review, Managerial Finance, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 4-13, 2007.
Chang, R. P., & Rhee, G., The impact of personal taxes on corporate dividend policy and capital structure decisions, Financial Management, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 21-31, 1990.
Chay, J.B., & Suh, J., Payout policy and cash-flow uncertainty, Journal of Financial Economic, Vol. 93, No.1, pp. 88-107, 2009.
Das, C., Kar, B., & Jena, M. K., Managerial remuneration and payout policy: evidence from Indian Regular payers, Investment Management and Financial Innovations, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 139-150, 2021.
Fama, E. F., & Babiak, H., Dividend policy: an empirical analysis, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 63, No. 324, pp. 1132-1161, 1968.
Fama, E. F., The empirical relationships between the dividend and investment decisions of firms, The American Economic Review, Vol. 64, No, 3, pp. 304-318, 1974.
Geiler, P., & Renneboog, L., Executive remuneration and the payout decision, corporate governance, An International Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 42-63, 2016.
Gill, A., Bigger, N. & Tibrewala, R., Determinants of dividend payout ratios: evidence from United States, The Open Business Journal, Vol. 3, pp. 8-14, 2010.
Gordon, M. J., Optimal investment and financing policy, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 264-272. 1963.
Jensen, M. C., Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance, and takeovers, The American Economic Review, Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 323-329, 1986.
Jeong, J., Determinants of dividend smoothing in emerging market: The case of Korea, Emerging Markets Review, Vol. 17, pp. 76-88, 2013.
Kania, S. L., What factors motivate the corporate dividend decision?, Theses, Bissertations & Honors Papers. 195, 2005.
Khan, T., Company dividends and ownership structure: evidence from UK panel data, The Economic Journal, Vol. 116, No, 510, pp. 172-189, 2006.
Kowalewski, O., Stetsyuk, I., & Talavera, O., Does corporate governance determine dividend payouts in Poland?, Post-Communist Economies, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 203-218, 2008.
Li, K., & Zhao, X., Asymmetric Information and Dividend Policy, Financial Management, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 673-694, 2008.
Lintner, J., Distribution of incomes of corporations among dividends, retained earnings, and taxes, The American Economic Review, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 97-113, 1956.
Lintner, J., Optimal dividends and corporate growth under uncertainty, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 78, No. 1, 49-95. 1964.
Mehran, H., Executive compensation structure, ownership, and firm performance, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 163-184, 1995.
Metha, A., An empirical analysis of determinants of dividend policy - evidence from the UAE companies, Global Review of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 18-31, 2012.
Miller, M. H., & Rock, K., Dividend policy under asymmetric information, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 40, No.4, pp. 1031-1051, 1985.
Miller, M., & Modigliani, F., Dividend policy, growth and the valuation of shares, The Journal of Business, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 411-433, 1961.
Mookerjee, R., An empirical investigation of corporate dividend pay-out behaviour in an emerging market, Applied Financial Economics, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 243-246, 1992.
Naceur, S. B., Goaied, M., & Belanes, A., On the determinants and dynamics of dividend policy, International Review of Finance, Vol. 6, No. 1-2, pp. 1-23, 2006.
Nerviana, R., The effect of financial ratios and company size on dividend policy, The Indonesian Accounting Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp.23-32, 2015.
Patra, T., Poshakwale, S., & Ow-Yong, K., Determinants of corporate dividend policy in Greece, Applied Financial Economics, Vol. 22, No. 13, pp. 1079-1087, 2012.
Pattiruhu, J. R., & Paais, M., Effect of liquidity, profitability, leverage, and firm size on dividend policy, Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, Vol. 7, No. 10, pp. 35-42, 2020.
Salehi, M., Moradi, M., & Honarmand, S., Factors affecting dividend policy: empirical evidence of Iran, Poslovna izvrsnost, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 45-61, 2010.
Sibanda, M., Do firms smooth their dividends over time? Evidence from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Journal of Economics, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 333-339, 2014.