3.2.3 Control Variables
The following firm characteristics are used as control variables in regression analysis.
Return on assets (ROA) is operating income over total assets. It is used to control for profitability. The
relationship between DPR and ROA is predicted to be positive since firms with higher earnings tend to pay
higher dividends than firms with relatively smaller earnings.
Firm size (SIZE) is measured by the natural logarithm of total assets. Since larger firms tend to be more mature
and have higher free cash flow than smaller firms, it is expected that the relationship between DPR and SIZE is
positive.
Following Baba (2009), free cash flow is estimated by cash flows from operations (OCF). A positive relationship
between OCF and DPR should be observed if dividends are used to mitigate agency problems, while a negative
relationship between these variables suggests that managers expropriate shareholders.
According to Fama and French (2001), Market-to-book (MTB) ratio can be used as a proxy for growth
opportunities. In this paper, MTB is calculated as the market value of equity over the book value of equity. It is
expected that the relationship between MTB and DPR is negative because firms with higher investments are
more likely to have less free cash flow and pay lower dividends.