Influence of Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Credit Supply on Dividend Repatriation Policy of U.S. Multinational Corporations

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of exchange rate fluctuations and credit supply on the dividend repatriation policy of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs) around the world. The difference generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator was applied to estimate the dynamic dividend repatriation model. The results suggest that the appreciation of host-country currency against the USD leads to higher dividend repatriation by the foreign subsidiaries of U.S. MNCs. Moreover, results reveal that higher availability of private credit in the host country results in lower dividend repatriation by the U.S. MNCs' foreign subsidiaries.