Dividend behavior of Polish nonfinancial listed firms

Corporate dividend policy is still one of the major puzzles in modern finance. The question, when and why do firms pay dividends, is still valid. Vast literature has examined the dividend policies of firms from developed countries, especially from U.S. Fama and French (2001) document that U.S. firms have become less likely to pay dividends. The question is whether this lower propensity to pay dividends is quite general? What is the situation on emerging markets? Do the firms paying dividends and nonpaying dividends differ in terms of profitability, liquidity, leverage? The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dividends behavior of Polish listed nonfinancial companies. Furthermore, the paper examines the characteristics of dividend payers and nonpayers listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange.