The Determinants of the Payment Policy for Public and Private Companies in Russia

The goal of the work is the empirical analysis of the specifics of the dividend policy of Russian public and private companies taking into account traditional and modern theories in the linear and nonlinear interrelationships. To achieve this goal the following tasks were set: studying of the theoretical aspects of the company dividend policy, conducting comparative and regressive analysis of the dividend policy of state and private companies in Russia and drawing conclusions about the specifics of the dividend policy of public and private companies taking into account the results of empirical analysis. Within the framework of this work the hypothesis that the formation of the dividend policy in public and private companies in Russia differs has been put forward. Confirmation or refutation of this hypothesis characterizes the mechanism of the formation of the dividend policy of Russian companies. Thus, during the comparative and regression analysis nonlinear parabolic linkage has been revealed between the indicator of the dividend payout ratio and the state participation share in the company management. The positive relationship between these indicators to the point of inflection is explained by the attempt to solve the agency problem in the company, and the negative link after the inflection point is explained by the desire of state companies to accumulate most of the funds under their control. This type of connection has been identified by modifying the initially chosen econometric model of Al-Kuwari. In addition, it is worth noting that the importance of such control variables as the company size, financial leverage and return on equity has been revealed for the dividend policy of public and private companies in Russia that confirms the applicability of the organization life-cycle theory to Russian realities.