Title: Payout policy, investment efficiency, and corporate performance in the Asia Pacific: does boardroom diversity matter?

Authors: Ijaz Ur Rehman

Addresses: College of Business Administration, Al Falah University, Dubai, 121004, UAE

Abstract: This study empirically examines the impact of board gender diversity on corporate performance, payout policy, and investment efficiency using a sample of 1021 firms listed in Asia Pacific markets for 2006-2016. Using fixed effect regression models, the results suggest that having a woman director on the corporate board enhances the investment efficiency and increases the propensity of dividend payout of the firms as compared to companies that do not have a women director. Nevertheless, the presence of a women director has an impact on weakening corporate performance. The results are robust across alternative measures of gender diversity. The study concludes that the presence of a woman director in the boardroom grants company a competitive edge over its competitors.

Keywords: gender diversity; firm performance; dividend payout; investment efficiency; agency theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMEF.2022.124958

International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance, 2022 Vol.15 No.2, pp.95 - 117

Received: 02 Feb 2021
Accepted: 15 Apr 2021
Published online: 18 Aug 2022 *

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