Factors that drive dividend payout decisions: an investigation in the context of Bangladesh

Generally, dividend policies guide the financial rewards of the shareholders. It is often a challenging decision for companies to determine the appropriate level of dividend for the shareholders. While some past studies argue that microeconomic factors drive the decision of dividend policies, many other researchers claim that it is the macroeconomic factors of a country which ultimately influence the dividend payouts. However, there is a paucity of research in this area for emerging countries like Bangladesh. This study thus examines impacts of a set of pre-determined microeconomic and macroeconomic factors upon cash dividend payouts by analysing a sample of listed firms of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Bangladesh. Findings are analysed based on liquidity, leverage, growth, and size of the sample firms for microeconomic factors; while, macroeconomic factors are analysed upon dividends on an average basis. The results provide policy implications for shareholders, management, policymakers and the government of Bangladesh.