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We show that dividend growth predictability by the dividend yield is the rule rather than the exception in global equity markets. Dividend predictability is weaker, however, in large and developed markets where dividends are smoothed more, the typical firm is large, and volatility is lower. Our findings suggest that the apparent lack of dividend predictability in the U.S. does not uniformly extend to other countries.Rather, cross-country patterns in dividend predictability are driven by differences in firm characteristics and the extent to which dividends are smoothed.JEL-Classification: G12, G15, F31

A unique data set enables us to test the hypothesis that due to informational advantages economists are more likely to hold stocks than otherwise identical investors. We confirm that economists have a significantly higher probability of participating in the stock market than investors with any other education, even when controlling for several background characteristics. We make use of a large register-based panel data set containing detailed information on the educational attainments and various financial and socioeconomic variables. We model the stock market participation decision by the probit model. The results are shown to be highly robust to various assumptions, including unobserved individual heterogeneity and instrumental variables estimation.