Economists are still in disagreement over why companies pay dividends (dividend puzzle). What both approaches discussed in financial economics have in common is that the earlier payment of dividends increases the respective benefit and thus promises overall efficiency gains. This draws attention to the fact that interim dividends are not permitted under German stock corporation law. A comparative legal analysis examines the regulatory systems in other European countries and shows that the prohibition of genuine interim dividends in German stock corporation law represents a national solo effort. In conjunction with the evaluation of economic research on the frequency of dividend payments, a legal policy proposal is developed to allow interim dividends in German stock corporation law.
Zeitschrift für Unternehmens- und Gesellschaftsrecht (ZGR), Vol. 54, Issue 6, pp. 978-1012,
2025
