Three Essays on Fiscal Stimulus, Corporate Policies, and the Local Economy

Over recent decades, large public firms have captured an ever-growing share of U.S. corporate profits. In parallel, payout rates have risen sharply: firms increasingly return profits to shareholders rather than retain them. Together, these two trends have produced a dramatic surge in corporate payout distributions. For example, total dividends and share repurchases by S&P 500 firms reached a record $1.57 trillion in 2024, up from roughly $100 billion in the early 1990s. This rapid increase in payouts raises natural questions: where do these payout proceeds ultimately flow? How do they affect the broader economy?

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Business

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Kansas

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Xiong, Xun

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Mihov, Atanas
• Meschke, Felix

• Corporate innovation
• Corporate payout policy
• Fiscal stimulus
• House prices
• Local economy
• Shareholder tax cut

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

https://www.proquest.com/LegacyDocView/DISSNUM/32698362

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/39499