In this paper, I analyzed corporation’s dividend policy of the colonial period.
The average dividend rate of the entire corporations was 5.5 to 6.5% and that
of corporations which could pay a dividend was 6.5 to 7.5%. As in the
previous studies, the results of tobit analysis, which was performed to confirm
the determinants of the dividend, also revealed that the rate of return, age,
capital size, debt, etc. affected the dividend.
In the analysis of the changes in the dividend, I found that the level of
stability of the dividend was not high in Korea. By analyzing the determinants
of changes in the dividend, it was confirmed that whether or not to change the
rate of return was most important. Finally, I did not find any evidence that
profitability in the future could be predicted by dividend changes.