Dividend commitment and bond yields: An examination of wealth transfer effects

Abstract

This paper examines a new type of corporate governance mechanism that has emerged in China, namely, dividend commitment, and documents its wealth transfer effects on bond yields. We find the larger-commitment group exhibits greater bond yields than the smaller-commitment group. Further analysis reveals that bondholders pay more attention to the wealth transfer effects when government bailouts are not available, when investing in exchange-traded bonds, and when other guarantees are not offered. This study sheds light on the effects of a unique governance mechanism in the Chinese bond market and contributes to the literature on global finance and corporate governance.