Demystifying the ‘dividend puzzle’ and making sense of government regulations in times of pandemics

In the early days of 2020, when measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic hurt economies worldwide, many publicly listed firms omitted or suspended their dividend payments. For investors across the world, who seek for or solely rely on dividend income, this situation caused great difficulty. By the end of 2021, dividends had bounced back. Globally, 90 per cent of companies either increased their dividends or maintained them steady. Erhan Kilincarslan analyses key developments affecting dividend policies.