Author(s)

Yina Yan ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Business School, Xi 'an International Studies University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710128, China

Corresponding Author

Yina Yan

ABSTRACT

The semi mandatory dividend policy links refinancing eligibility with cash dividend levels, forming a unique dividend regulatory system arrangement in China's capital market. Previous studies have mostly focused on the cash dividend promotion effect or "regulatory paradox" of policies, but have rarely examined the nature changes of the relationship between cash dividends and earnings after policy intervention from a theoretical perspective. This article constructs a three-dimensional analytical framework of "institutional constraints earnings function dividend decision-making", demonstrating that the core theoretical consequence of the semi mandatory dividend policy is that cash dividends have transformed from autonomous signals driven by earnings quality to compliance tools driven by financing qualifications, thereby triggering functional differentiation of earnings - real earnings have become the "qualification threshold" for dividend payments, and manipulable earnings have become the "regulatory variable" to avoid supervision. This article further analyzes the differential governance effects of policies in different earnings quality ranges from the perspective of agency costs, revealing the theoretical tension of the coexistence of "incentive distortion" and "governance premium". The research aims to provide a theoretical explanation for the decline of earnings information content under regulatory dividend policies, and to provide a theoretical basis for differentiated dividend regulation.

KEYWORDS

Semi mandatory dividend policy; Cash dividends; Earnings quality; Agency costs; Signal transmission

CITE THIS PAPER

Yina Yan. Research on the Relationship between Cash Dividend Distribution and Earnings of Listed Companies under the Semi Mandatory Dividend Policy. Accounting and Corporate Management (2026). Vol. 8, No. 2, 18-24. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/acccm.2026.080203.

REFERENCES

[1] Jiang Yanan, Hu Xin Research on the Impact of Cash Dividends on Earnings Management of Listed Manufacturing Companies [J]. Times of Fortune, 2023, (3): 89-91.
[2] Tian Mafei, Xiao Xing, Li Dan, etc The impact of social trust on cash dividend distribution in enterprises [J]. Contemporary Finance & Economics, 2023, (8): 146-156.
[3] L ü Zhu Research on the Relationship between Cash Dividend Distribution and Earnings Quality of Listed Companies under Semi mandatory Dividend Policy [J]. Contemporary Accounting, 2021 (21): 34-36.
[4] Ma Ruifeng Research on Semi mandatory Dividends of Family Enterprise H Company [D]. Anhui University, 2025.
[5] Song Yunpeng Research on GH Company's Cash Dividend Distribution Behavior from the Perspective of Semi mandatory Dividends [D]. Anhui University, 2024.
[6] Li Wei, Huang Lixin Semi mandatory dividend policy and cost of equity capital [J]. Accounting Forum, 2022, 21 (1): 61-82.
[7] Hu Yuting Research on the Impact of Dividend Stability on Corporate Equity Financing Costs [D]. Southwest University of Finance and Economics, 2023.
[8] Hu Anping Research on the Impact of Differentiated Dividend Policies on Equity Financing Costs of Listed Companies in China [D]. Shanghai Normal University, 2022.

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