Flexible firm-level dividends in Latin America

•We show high levels of payout policy variability in respect to payout policy status – initiators and omitters – and in respect to dividend payout amounts in Latin America.•We provide Lintner (1956) equation parameters estimated using a dynamic panel regression specification and interpreted using theory developed in Lambrecht-Myers (2012). The results shows higher speed of adjustment and a lower rate of habit formation in Latin American firms relative to firms in North America.•We also find higher dividend target payout ratios in Latin American firms.•We conjecture that information asymmetries exhibited by relatively financially immature Latin American firms can account for the difference in variability.