Financial reforms and corporate dividend policy

Dividends policy and firm's behavior on dividend payments has been a significant area of research in the field of financial economics. Firms have the option either to retain their earnings or distribute them to stockholders in the form of dividends. But retention is comparatively advantageous in that firms can reinvest their earnings in profitable projects. The question arises, as to why firms pay dividends then? This book is an endeavor to find an answer to this question together with assessing the impact of financial reforms of 1990's on the dividend payout behavior of the publicly listed firms of Karachi Stock Exchange of Pakistan.