03_ROBUSTNESS_GUIDE
BƯỚC 3. ROBUSTNESS, ALTERNATIVE TUI VÀ ALTERNATIVE DIVIDEND MEASURES
PHẦN A. ROBUSTNESS PLAN
| Concern | Test |
|---|---|
| TUI aggregation | annual vs fiscal-year-aligned |
| TUI scale | log / standardized |
| generic uncertainty | EPU/GPR/WUI controls |
| dividend metric | DVC/AT, payer, payout, yield |
| sticky dividends | change/cut/omission |
| repurchase substitution | total payout/repurchase |
| tourism classification | core vs broad |
| country dominance | leave-one-country-out |
| crisis dependence | COVID exclusion |
| inference | country cluster / wild bootstrap |
| sector cycles | Industry×Year FE |
PHẦN B. FISCAL-YEAR TUI
One of the most important tests.
Compare:
$$
AnnualTUI_{c,t}
$$
vs:
$$
TUIFY_{i,c,t}
$$
If fiscal-year TUI is stronger:
timing alignment matters.
Report FYE distribution.
PHẦN C. TUI TRANSFORMATIONS
Possible:
- raw TUI;
- standardized TUI;
- $ln(1+TUI)$ where valid;
- high-TUI dummy;
- ΔTUI.
Do not transform only to get significance.
PHẦN D. GENERAL UNCERTAINTY CONTROLS
Add sequentially:
- EPU;
- GPR;
- WUI;
- VIX/global uncertainty.
If TUI remains:
supports tourism-specific information.
If TUI vanishes:
TUI may proxy broader uncertainty.
This is substantively important.
PHẦN E. ALTERNATIVE DIVIDEND OUTCOMES
- DVC/AT.
- payer dummy.
- payout ratio.
- DVC/SALE.
- dividend yield.
- dividend growth.
- cut.
- omission.
- total payout if repurchase data validated.
PHẦN F. COVID SENSITIVITY
Tourism uncertainty and dividends both changed dramatically in 2020–2021.
Tests:
- exclude 2020;
- exclude 2020–2021;
- pre-COVID;
- post-COVID;
- TUI×COVID.
Do not let one extraordinary episode drive whole story.
PHẦN G. COUNTRY LEAVE-ONE-OUT
Essential if coverage is concentrated.
| Excluded country | β | p | N | sign |
|---|
Large countries/tourism markets may dominate.
PHẦN H. TOURISM SUBSECTOR
Compare:
- airlines;
- hotels;
- restaurants;
- travel;
- recreation/casino.
Expected uncertainty sensitivity can differ sharply.
PHẦN I. VCE
Because TUI is country-year:
- country cluster baseline;
- wild-cluster if few countries;
- country/year two-way sensitivity;
- firm+country sensitivity where justified.
Do not choose firm clustering as sole inference.
PHẦN J. ROBUSTNESS SUMMARY
| Family | Sign | Magnitude | Precision | Judgment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUI timing | ||||
| TUI transformations | ||||
| uncertainty controls | ||||
| dividend outcomes | ||||
| COVID | ||||
| tourism classification | ||||
| LOO | ||||
| VCE |
PHẦN K. SAMPLE WRITING
The main result is broadly robust to alternative TUI timing and payout definitions. Fiscal-year-aligned TUI yields [similar/stronger/weaker] estimates than calendar-year TUI. The coefficient remains [direction] after controlling for broader EPU, GPR, and global uncertainty, suggesting that tourism-specific uncertainty contains incremental information. The conclusion is also [stable/sensitive] to excluding the COVID-19 period and individual countries.
PHẦN L. OUTPUT
- Annual vs Fiscal-Year TUI Table.
- General-Uncertainty Controls Table.
- Alternative Dividend Table.
- COVID Table.
- Subsector Table.
- Country LOO.
- VCE Table.
- Robustness Summary.
- Draft robustness 1,500–2,200 words.
PHẦN M. CHECKLIST
☐ fiscal-year TUI tested.
☐ generic uncertainty controlled.
☐ multiple payout measures used.
☐ COVID sensitivity done.
☐ subsectors examined.
☐ country LOO done.
☐ VCE robust.
☐ no significance shopping.
Chuyển sang Bước 4: Endogeneity & Advanced Analyses.