Does Peer Matters? How Peer Influence Firm Payout Policies: Evidence from Pakistan

Payout decisions are receiving more interest from an investor’s point of view. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of peer payout policies on a firm payout policy in Pakistan. This study employs an instrumental variable technique to overcome the endogeneity issue, which is based on peers' idiosyncratic equity shocks. The peers' payout policies have a causal link with a firm payout policy. The effect of peer pressure on firm payout is more evident in companies that compete in a more competitive market and have a good information environment. The firms that are similar in size or resource, especially young and small firms, are more responsive to their industry peers. This study provides channels for managers or policymakers to become more optimistic about formulating the payout policy to attract investors' attention and to compete more fiercely in the market.