| In recent years, the financial management becomes more and more important with the high—speed development of capital market and joint—stock companies. Dividend policy, as one of the core activities of modern financial management, is the extension of financing and investment policies and also the consideration between reinvestment and paying for the investors. In 1961, Miller and Modigliani raised the famous MM theory, on the basis of which many theories has been developed, including "one bird in hands" theory, revenue theory, followers effect theory, signal theory and agency cost theory. These theories have been built on such assumptions: rational, risk averse, maximize the utility function and the situation in which the knowledge is updated, and based on the research of mature western capital market. Now, comparing with west companies, listed companies in China are different in company system, market environment and practice of dividend policy, have their own features in making the dividend policy, and show more irrational characteristics. Therefore, to Chinese listed companies, the mainstream financial theories have some limitations in explaining the irrational personalities of dividend policy. These irrational characteristics determine that behavioral finance theory will be very effective in the research of Chinese dividend policy.Through the overview of domestic and oversea studies on the cash dividend policy, according to the clue of irrational personality in making the dividend policy, this paper analyses the emergence, features and working mechanism of the irrational behaviors showed by the decision makers in the market with the research results on dividend policy of behavioral finance theory and the principles of mainstream financial theories. On this basis, this paper gives the policy suggestions to complete the design of relevant regulatory system, regulate the acts of market profiteer, and improve the market efficiency. The perspective of the article is not only the origin and mechanism but also the regulation and rectification of the irrational characteristics in making the dividend policies. Therefore, this paper uses a micro—based macro perspective, such as the study of macro policies about dividend policy and government behaviors, and a micro perspective, such as the study of the irrational behaviors of the individual investors in the process of dividend distribution. About research methods, this paper combines the theoretical research and empirical research. From the review, the cross—sectional data was from a particular year in the research for signal transfer effect theory and agency cost theory, but it can not be persuasive when dose the same search using one year sample in china's irrational stock market. Considering that, this paper adopts nine years cross—section data from 1997 to 2005 to study the impacts influencing the dividend policy of Chinese listed companies empirically and yearly, the goal of which is to find the real factors affecting the dividend policy. The part of the empirical study, firstly verifies the factor research comes from the mainstream of financial theory; secondly, tests the continuity and stability of factors effecting the listed company's dividend policy using Multiple Regression Mode in order to find the factors which are stable and which are not and then find whether the listed company's dividend policy is reasonable.This thesis holds that external and internal factors make Chinese company's dividend policy show irrational characteristics. As the result of the combination effect coming from the investors' unconcern which is determined by the personality of those investors, the policy defect of the capital market and the hidden security for government's irrational behaviors, listed companies are lack of effective external restrict. The main internal factor is that the company's internal management is not efficient. According to these conclusions, this paper makes a number of constructive and purposeful policy proposals, in order to decline the irrationality of dividend policy, regulate the market participator's behaviors and elevate the efficiency of the stock market.Finally, this paper believes that, in long run the "invisible hand" will correct the rule of the big gamble capital market, improve the institutional deficiencies, die out the gamer that does not obey the rules, affect everyone in the economic society through the capital market, and gradually improve the external environment of the capital market. With investors' increasing emphasis on dividend policy, the enhancement of the government's supervision and the improvement of the capital market, the dividend policy of Chinese company will change from irrational to rational, from unreasonable to reasonable. On this point, the development history of American capital market gives a consult to us. The stone from other mountain can be made into jade! Today's American capital market is the future of ours. The dividend policy research from American scholars has tremendous reference meaning to our policy, and the ripe dividend policy made by their company should also pose a direction to our listed companies when they make theirs. |
