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Municipal bonds, which are also known as muni bonds or simply munis, are commonly issued by state and local governments. Interest paid on munis is generally tax exempt which benefits investors in high tax brackets. Individuals should only own munis in a taxable account so they can capture the tax-exempt benefit. They have very low default/credit risk due to either a high credit rating and/or a third-party guarantee. Capital gains associated with these bonds are taxable unless the de minimis rule applies. Tax-exempt interest payments may also trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Investors can purchase munis directly, or indirectly through a fund. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does creditor health affect the pass-through of monetary policy to households? Using data on the universe of U.S. credit unions, I document that creditor asset losses increase the sensitivity of consumer credit to monetary policy. Identification exploits plausibly exogenous variation in asset losses and high-frequency identification of monetary policy shocks. Weaker lenders can respond more if they face financial frictions that easing alleviates. The estimates imply constraints on monetary policy become more costly in financial crises featuring creditor asset losses and that an additional benefit of monetary easing is that it weakens the causal, contractionary effect of asset losses. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective prevention could protect the health of the workforce, save human capital loss, and maintain employee productivity as well as economic growth. Using real-world data of patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and lung cancer, we multiplied their lifetime survival functions with employment ratios and working salaries to estimate the lifetime employment durations and earnings. They were compared with corresponding age-, sex-, and calendar year-matched referents to assess the differences in loss of lifetime employment duration and earnings. From 2000 to 2017, 83,358 patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were associated with 32–66% lifetime productivity losses. Similarly, we collected 24,904 incident cases of lung adenocarcinoma during 2011–2018 and estimated the potential savings in human capital due to early detection. Based on the evolving trends of ESKD incidence rates in Taiwan, we calculated the lifetime human capital losses of ESKD patients in GDP (gross domestic product) percentages during 2000–2020. The aggregate lifetime productivity losses of ESKD in terms of GDP% varied between 0.000398% and 0.01% for male patients and between 0.0001% and 0.009% for female patients. The younger the patients, the bigger the losses in GDP%. Similarly, early detection of lung adenocarcinoma saved lives and productivity to some extent. Successful prevention of catastrophic illnesses at early stages would save the lifetime employment duration and productivity of the workforce. Future reform on the NHI could consider closer coordination between public health and healthcare organizations, focusing on effective prevention of diseases and complications to save productivity loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding is important for women and children's health, but less than half of infants worldwide begin life with optimal breastfeeding. A growing literature shows consistently large economic costs of not breastfeeding, with global studies showing economic losses of around US$300 billion globally. However, existing studies are highly diverse in approaches, methods, data sources and country results. Building on a landmark 2012 UNICEF UK review focused on high-income countries, we conducted a scoping review to map and characterize the expanding literature and identify future research directions in this research area. We included studies (n  = 36) in diverse country settings and outcomes for women and children. We used PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ProQuest and manual searches of cost of not breastfeeding studies published between 1996 and 2023. Articles were excluded if they were macroeconomic evaluations, did not assign monetary values or only evaluated breastfeeding or formula feeding costs and not outcomes or were cost of programs studies. We found considerable diversity in disciplinary approaches and differences in methodologies. Though there were different cost measurement perspectives (societal, institutional/payer and individual), all but two excluded the costs of unpaid care. Studies typically measured costs of medical treatment, with more recent studies using dynamic simulation models. The largest economic costs were derived from lifetime estimates of human capital losses, namely cost of premature death and loss of intelligence quotient points. Medical and death costs varied widely depending on method of calculation, but total costs consistently exceeded $US100 billion annually for the USA, and around $US300 billion in global studies. Our findings suggest that greater interdisciplinary collaboration is needed particularly to better define infant feeding exposures, and advance comprehensive measurement of costs and outcomes across lifetimes, in order to prioritize breastfeeding as a public health strategy of economic importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River floods disrupt communication and transportation networks, damage buildings and infrastructure, destroy agricultural products and livestock, cause capital losses and endanger human life. Accurate and proper flood prediction and forecasting are major challenges in hydrology and water resources management. The aim of this study was to forecast and estimate the daily flows of three rivers in Iran using four tree-based data-mining methods, two ensemble bagging methods and the stochastic time series model Arima (auto-regressive integrated moving average). A comparison of these different methodologies is the main contribution of this work. Five statistical measures were used to evaluate the accuracy of these models based on 4 years of daily discharge flow data. The hold-out method was used to divide the data into training (70%) and testing (30%) sets. It was found that the ensemble tree-based chi-square automatic interaction detector provided the most precise forecasts. The overall results indicate that the data-mining methods of ensemble models and tree-based models improved the average accuracy of the models by 25.0% and 15.5% compared with the stochastic Arima model, respectively, indicating the superiority of their potential in capturing the non-linear behaviour of flow discharges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Direct indexing (DI) combined with tax-loss harvesting (TLH) is a popular approach to generate capital losses to offset a client's capital gains while attempting to track a specified index. The goal is to increase after-tax excess returns by postponing or reducing tax payments. More TLH opportunities exist when the index constituents have a higher dispersion of returns and are therefore more likely to be at a loss. To create more TLH opportunities within DI, the authors propose a method to modify the target index to increase dispersion based on the realized volatility of stocks. They show that as the average constituent volatility increases, the effectiveness of DI TLH also increases against plain DI TLH that does not utilize this method. The authors further show that this method can significantly increase the after-tax excess returns versus plain DI TLH at the same tracking error per unit of additional returns. Further increases of dispersion can increase after-tax excess returns even more, although at a gradually higher cost of tracking error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the effect of leverage on tax-managed public equity strategies for different types of investors by running back-tests on hypothetical portfolios. We found the average 130/30 long/short portfolio funded with cash generates 2.7 times more capital losses than the average long-only portfolio over the first 10 years. For an investor with a sufficient supply of short- and long-term gains, these additional losses translate to average pre-liquidation tax alpha ("TA") of 4.41% per year. Liquidation reduces TA by about half, while a lack of short-term capital gains to offset reduces TA by approximately 40%. In combination, those investor characteristics may render a long-only loss harvesting portfolio or a low-cost ETF more desirable than a long/short tax-managed equity portfolio after costs and fees are taken into consideration. Leverage can also be used to revitalize an ossified portfolio whose loss-generating capacity has diminished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We look at what can be done with a concentrated position in low-basis stock. Options include selling the stock and getting capital-gains treatment, holding the stock until death and getting a stepped-up basis, gifting the stock to loved ones, swapping the stock via an exchange fund, and gifting the stock to charity. The pros and cons of each alternative are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital losses reflect the reality of a drop in value. While no one wants to lose value, harvesting losses for tax purposes can provide a financial silver lining--and one that doesn't expire. To capture recognizable losses, be opportunistic as there is no need to wait for year-end, and thereafter simply follow the rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of FinanzRundschau is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The main purpose of this research was to identify misinformation and other related online falsehoods i.e. dis-malinformation, fake news, rumor spreading in social media in Bangladesh associated with their threat and impact on human lives. Using a qualitative approach, the author randomly selected around 26 cases that happened in Bangladesh over the last 15 years. Both primary and secondary information resources (online and print newspapers, news archives, websites, blogs, TV channels, various social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter, etc.; a series of conversations with journalists) were considered to collect the cases that were spreading as misinformation. The cases were then categorized into various aspects such as political, health, religious, social, crime, and entertainment. A number of research papers were browsed in Google, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar, and the newspaper was also scanned to find out the associated effects of each case on our society. Findings showed in Bangladesh, the adverse ramifications of such misinformation were in religious and political aspects resulting social insecurity to loss of life also. Moreover, health misinformation has led people to decline health measures and practice unproven treatments which would be a great threat to public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Técnica Tributaria is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Asesores Fiscales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on an asset demand system, we develop a framework to quantify the impact of market trends and changes in regulation on asset prices, price informativeness, and the wealth distribution. Our leading applications are the transition from active to passive investment management and climate-induced shifts in asset demand. The transition from active to passive investment management had a large impact on equity prices but a small impact on price informativeness because capital did not flow from more to less informed investors on average. This finding is based on a new measure of investor-level informativeness that identifies which investors are more informed about future profitability. Climate-induced shifts in asset demand have a potentially large impact on equity prices and the wealth distribution, implying capital gains for passive investment advisors, pension funds, insurance companies, and private banking and capital losses for active investment advisors and hedge funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of FinanzRundschau is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the geostrategic importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), discusses its potential trade impacts on African states, and considers whether it could support regional peace. Regional integration is crucial for achieving industrialisation, promoting trade across African borders, and preserving regional peace and security. Inextricably linked to regional integration is a security community comprising a distinct group of individuals for whom the likelihood of large-scale conflict or violence has diminished. A comparative analysis was conducted using Africa's trade patterns, milestones, and achievements during 2015–2017 and 2022–2023. Subsequently, the key causes of insecurity on the African continent were explored, focusing on the Regional Economic Communities and states embroiled in coups during 2020–2023. The findings suggest that African authorities view the AfCFTA positively and believe economic integration may bring about peace. However, African authorities would require a strong continental strategy – supported by robust regional and national programmes – to promote investor confidence and trade, considering Africa's high levels of intercommunal violence, civil unrest, violent extremism, terrorism, and transnational crime. The AfCFTA delayed trade liberalisation to protect Africa's less developed economies, resulting in poor working conditions, intellectual capital loss, and decreased tax collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberman et al. (2023) showed that tax-aware long-short factor strategies, within the first three years since inception, can realize cumulative net capital losses exceeding 100% of initially invested capital, all while generating a significant pre-tax alpha. This article explores the mechanism behind these remarkable results. Surprisingly, in tax-aware long-short factor strategies, net capital losses arise not from an increased realization of capital losses but rather from the deferral of capital gains, especially short-term gains on long positions. Despite reducing the gain realization, these strategies still allocate most of their turnover to trading in the direction of the alpha model, which explains their strong pre-tax performance. To achieve alignment with the alpha model, these strategies mostly rely on creating new positions and liquidating loss positions while avoiding the liquidation of gain positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the rapid expansion of remote work. With this expansion, new opportunities arise for the typical migrant-sending countries in Central and Eastern Europe to remotely involve their diaspora in their labor market. The aim of this paper is, by using the case study of Latvia, to show the potential of cross-border remote work for alleviating human capital losses caused by emigration. We assess the main obstacles and necessary adjustments in taxes, social benefits, labor market regulation and other areas to facilitate the labor market transition and show what incentives the country can use to become a place of choice for performing remote work for the diaspora. Combining the perspectives of employers, employees and the government, this study sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities related to the rise of remote work for countries suffering from emigration. The comprehensive analysis builds on triangulating secondary data, analysis of policy documents, a survey of employers, as well as a survey and in-depth interviews with cross-border remote workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of the study indicate significant changes in human capital due to the military confrontation with the Russian Federation. It was established that the human capital in the pre-war period was characterized as highly educated and qualified, which is proved by high indices in the international talent competitiveness rating (61st place out of 155 countries), however, during the war period there was a significant loss of human capital, which was estimated at 4031 thousand killed, 4735 thousand wounded, 1 million 2 thousand forcibly deported to the Russian Federation, 13.7 million displaced, of whom 5.7 million people left the country. In order to overcome the crisis situation it is suggested to point the main ways of preservation and post-war restoration of human capital in the direction of: creating appropriate conditions to stimulate the return of citizens to Ukraine, the development of effective programs of post-war restoration of human capital and its sustainable development in Ukraine, as well as providing free and unimpeded access to educational services with opportunities for participation of applicants in international projects and programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analysed the effect of credit on the poverty status of roasted plantain vendors in Calabar, Nigeria. The study described sources of credit, comparing the poverty status of credit recipients versus non-recipients, and the relationship between credit access and poverty index alongside the relationship between socioeconomic factors and poverty index. Data was collected from 110 randomly sampled roasted plantain vendors with the use of structured questionnaire. Poverty was measured with the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model class of weighted poverty measures. Descriptive statistics were used to examine poverty status, access to credit and the sociodemographic attributes of the roasted plantain vendors. Next, using descriptive statistics, the poverty status of the vendors who accessed credit was compared to those who did not access credit. Finally, the association between access to credit and poverty index was analyzed with logistic regression model while adjusting for the effects of sociodemographic factors. Descriptive statistics showed that 60% of the vendors were female, the average age was 35 years, and the average household size was four persons. Precisely, 91% of the roasted plantain vendors had completed primary or higher education. Exactly, 64.5% received credit, while 30.79% reported non-institutional lenders as sources of credit. The mean monthly income was N48,036.36 (US$116.89). Poverty incidence was lower among credit recipients (0.268) compared to nonrecipients (0.487). Credit access (OR = .083, p<.01) and household (OR=2.496, p<.01) had statistically significant associations with the poverty index. Policies promoting structural transformation are recommended for sustainable financial inclusion. An effective economic growth and development program, for example, will increase productive capacities and reduce capital losses, increase creditworthiness, motivate capital expansion and sustainable growth. Also, it was recommended that cooperative formation among the vendors is required. Membership of such a cooperative will increase credit access through reduced transaction cost, higher group’s creditworthiness/borrowing experience and stronger negotiation capacity. A Nigerian economic transformation program to promote increased productive capacities and reduced capital losses is necessary for any financial inclusion policies to sustainably alleviate poverty among deprived agro-processors such as the roasted plantain vendors. Such programs will include financial literacy including banking and loan repayments, business innovations, and business plan development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gasoline vapour emission is hazardous to both human health and the ecosystem and also results in capital loss, altogether revealing the necessity of its recovery. Some ZIF‐8–Pebax flat nanocomposite membranes were fabricated by the method of solution casting and used for gasoline vapour recovery as represented by n‐hexane vapour/nitrogen separation. Microporous ZIF‐8 nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. BET results revealed specific surface area, total volume, and average pore diameter of 940.8 m2 · g−1, 0.36 cm3 · g−1, and 1.54 nm, respectively. Pure nitrogen and n‐hexane vapour/nitrogen gas mixture permeabilities were measured through the membranes. There was a decline in both permeation rate and selectivity up to 5.0 wt.% of ZIF‐8 loading and the next increment at their higher loadings to considerably more values that the pristine membrane. The maximum n‐hexane vapour permeability and selectivity at 10.0 wt.% loading of ZIF‐8 nanoparticles, the feed flow rate of 173 mL · min−1, and permeate side pressure of −200 mbar were observed as 280.1 Barrer and 106.7, respectively, revealing 60.0% and 36.9% improvements compared with those of the pristine Pebax membrane. Observed 86%–92% n‐hexane vapour recovery approves the successful application of the ZIF‐8–Pebax nanocomposite membranes for n‐hexane/nitrogen separation. The long‐term separation performance of 5.0 wt.% ZIF‐8 loaded nanocomposite membrane was improved by 76.5% compared with that of the pristine Pebax membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges and strategies involved in implementing factor investing for taxable investors. Factor investing involves constructing portfolios based on specific characteristics to outperform passive benchmark indices. However, the trading required for factor strategies can generate significant capital gains tax liabilities, potentially offsetting the outperformance. The authors propose incorporating tax management techniques into the portfolio implementation process to capture factor premiums while mitigating tax liabilities. They introduce a framework for assessing the risk of taxes outweighing factor premiums and discuss various tax management techniques. The article emphasizes the importance of tax efficiency in factor investing and provides a practical framework for incorporating tax management into the investment process. The authors conducted simulations and found that tax-managed factor strategies can deliver pre-tax factor alphas while mitigating capital gains taxes. However, there are performance differences across strategies, and tax efficiency and implementation differences should be considered. Another document discusses the quantification of risks in equity investment management using risk metrics such as tracking error, beta exposure to factors, and expected shortfall. It provides examples based on the value strategy to illustrate these risk concepts. The document emphasizes the importance of considering factors such as dispersion, correlation, and mean returns in assessing risk. It also introduces the concepts of risk attribution and covariance-based risk contributions. The goal is to provide library patrons with a deeper understanding of the drivers of poor investment outcomes and the factors that contribute to risk in equity investments. The article discusses the impact of capital gains taxes on factor strategy alphas for taxable investors and highlights the importance of tax management techniques [Extracted from the article]

There has always been controversy among researchers over how dividend policies affect share prices, and this equivocal relationship varies throughout international markets. This study is set to examine the relation between share prices and number of dividend policy and profitability variables. Based on the information from five insurance companies that are listed on Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) over the period 2014 and 2022, findings indicates that 55.3% of stock prices could be explained by factors related to profitability and dividend policy. The relationship between stock price, as a dependent variable, and earnings per share (EPS), dividend yield (DY), earning to price ratio (EP), risk premium (RP), and retention ratio (RR), as independent variables, was investigated in this study using OLS regression approach. The results of the regression analysis demonstrated a significant direct relationship between stock price and earnings per share (EPS), suggesting that investors choose highly profitable shares. At the 99% confidence level, the earnings to price ratio (EP) likewise revealed a statistically significant direct relationship with the stock price. At 90% confidence level, risk premium (RP) also shown a substantial direct relationship. The only variable that significantly correlated negatively with share prices was dividend yield (DY), suggesting that investors choose more stable payouts over uncertain future capital gains. Conversely, the retention ratio (RR) demonstrated a negligible direct impact on share prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from Chinese listed firms, we develop a measure of a firm's reliance on human capital that is based on its demand for highly educated employees. We find that a high reliance on human capital is linked to low corporate leverage, and this effect is more pronounced among firms at a high risk of human capital mobility and those facing high skilled‐labour adjustment costs. Our results indicate that firms strategically manage their capital structure to maintain financial flexibility, enabling them to effectively respond to the labour‐related costs associated with human capital losses and costly labour adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiscal deficits represent an important variable for banks' aggregate credit risk, revealing governments' ability to curb banks' losses in bad states, either with direct cash infusions or with macroeconomic stabilization policies. Deteriorating deficits are associated with increasing financial distress of the banking sector and higher levels of loan-loss provisions. The effect is more pronounced for banks with a strong aversion to underprovisioning and is robust to a battery of tests and to the identification of fiscal shocks using military-spending data. This association represents an additional source of negative comovement between provisions and economic conditions, with implications for financial stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Armed conflicts are expected to be harmful to education but micro-level studies find at times contradicting results. Therefore, this article identifies under which conditions and to what extent armed conflicts harm the long-term educational attainment of children in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. By combining 66 rounds of DHS surveys with geo-coded conflict information, our study contextualizes the findings of a series of country-specific case studies on the effects of conflict on education, and provides evidence on the mechanisms through which these effects occur. Our main identification strategy compares educational losses of youth living within the same household, while also controlling for local weather shocks and countrywide dynamics in education. The effects of conflict on education are strongly context-dependent. High-intensity conflicts reduce local educational attainment on average, although this effect becomes insignificant in strong autocracies. By contrast, education is generally unaffected by localized low-intensity conflict. Human capital loss due to conflict is most severely felt in weak states, and in response to non-state based conflicts, highlighting the importance of state capacity in mediating the educational costs of local conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the neoclassical model of economic growth by introducing human capital into production function and studies the impact of educational reform on economic performance. In the author's model, the government taxes consumption to reallocate the resources to educational needs, which is one of the most prominent ingredients of human capital. The tax increase has costly consequences for the economy in the short-run, regarding the slowdown of economic activity, and the consumption loss. Thereafter, the increase in education builds additional human capital, making people more productive, recovering economic activity and stabilizing consumption at even higher levels in the long run. Thus, in the longer term, it is beneficial for the economies with low human capital to devote resources in favour of educational reforms, even though it carries the risks of political capital loss due to short-run economic costs. In the short run political capital decreases as a result of the implemented reform costs, which, on the other hand, indicate the cumulative loss of consumption. In the long run, however, the policymaker regains its political capital. Governments with low reputation cannot implement structural reforms. Besides, the authors compare the impact of low-efficient educational reforms with the impact of highly effective ones and come to the conclusion that consumption is formulated at a lower level in the former case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contaduría y Administración is the property of Facultad de Contaduria y Administracion-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Driving under the influence (DUI) is one of the major causes of traffic crashes in Taiwan, leading to huge medical expenditures and human capital loss. Although the authorities have enacted several policies to reduce drunk driving, most penalties are based on drunk drivers' alcohol levels. According to Taiwan regulations, drivers could pay a fine to refuse the breath test if they are not involved in a traffic collision, and there is no clear evidence showing that they are DUI. Therefore, increased sanctions for DUI may lead to increased breath test refusals. If breath tests for drunk driving could be refused with little or no punishments for drivers, then the detection of behavioral impairment would weaken, and the deterrent effect of DUI punishment would be limited. This research uses interrupted time-series analysis (ITSA) to examine how policy reforms from 2007 to 2020 affected driver's breath refusal rate in Taiwan. We find that said reforms that exclusively increase the punishment of DUI offenders did raise the refusal rate immediately and persistently, suggesting that more drunk drivers would refuse a breath test to avoid more severe DUI punishment. Policy reforms that increase penalties for drivers refusing to take breath tests may instantly lower the refusal rate, but the long-term effects are contingent upon the DUI punishment. It appears that drunk drivers could still decide on breath test refusal to avoid a DUI conviction if the punishment for refusing the test is less severe than that for DUI. Aggravating penalties for refusing breath tests would decrease the refusal rate and help reinforce DUI's deterrent effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On average, net losses realized by direct indexing loss-harvesting strategies taper off within the first few years after their inception. In our historical simulations, they reach a maximum average cumulative level of about 30% of the initially invested capital. In addition, direct indexing strategies exhibit a high dispersion of net loss outcomes. Long-short strategies motivated by factor investing can significantly outperform direct indexing strategies from both a pre-tax and tax perspective. We model two types of long-short factor-based strategies: relaxed-constraint and composite long-short. Both types of strategies, if implemented with a sufficiently high level of leverage and tracking error, can realize a cumulative net capital loss of 100% of the invested capital within a few years and, at the same time, substantially outperform the benchmark index before tax, net of implementation costs. We further show that leverage and tracking error of long-short strategies can be managed dynamically in a highly tax-efficient manner. For example, an investor who becomes less optimistic about the prospects of factor investing can reduce the leverage and tracking error substantially, albeit not all the way to zero, without recognizing net capital gains. We find that a full liquidation of the long and short extensions results in realization of most of the previously deferred gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document, titled "Special Issue Editor's Letter," discusses the current state of direct indexing and the opportunities for providers to differentiate themselves in the market. One trend is the push to make direct indexing accessible to investors with low account minimums, achieved through fractional shares trading. On the other end of the wealth spectrum, there is a resurgence of interest in long-short extension strategies that use leverage to enhance the tax benefits of direct indexing. The document also highlights the importance of managing tracking error risk and the potential advantages of incorporating advanced risk management techniques. Additionally, direct indexing providers are expanding into asset classes beyond equities, such as fixed income, to optimize after-tax yield. The author expects the industry to consolidate in the coming years and encourages readers to explore the research articles in the special issue for a comprehensive evaluation of direct indexing. [Extracted from the article]

The 2024 special issue of the Journal of Beta Investment Strategies focuses on direct indexing, which is a popular trend in the beta space. The issue includes several articles that explore different aspects of direct indexing, such as the benefits of tax-loss harvesting, the efficacy of tax-loss harvesting overlays for active strategies, the advantages of donating appreciated stock in tax-aware long-short factor strategies, and the use of direct indexing in wealth management. The articles provide valuable insights and propose new approaches for investors interested in direct indexing. The journal also welcomes submissions on related topics for future issues. [Extracted from the article]

This article investigates the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the long‐term economic growth of South Africa. We embed an epidemiological model in a modified Solow–Swan model and explore various channels such as morbidity, mortality, unemployment, loss of school days and capital accumulation. We demonstrate that COVID‐19 will lower the average annual growth rate of GDP per capita of South Africa by 0.07 percentage points in the next four decades, a 25 per cent decline relative to the no‐COVID benchmark. We show that human capital losses due to school closures account for more than half of the economic slowdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the representative fruits of China, apple plays an important role in the overall agricultural production system. However, the large amount of chemical inputs in apple production has potential detrimental impacts on the environment and human health, and thus threatens the achievement of sustainable development goals. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental burden (EB) and human capital (refer to human lives) loss (HCL) caused by apple production system (APS) is urgently needed to suggest directions for improvement. A method widely used to measure impacts from both the use of resources and the emissions generated in the agriculture sector is the life cycle assessment (LCA). In this study, the EB and HCL caused by the APS have been determined from two phases using the LCA methodology in China. The results show that the leading cause of EB in the agricultural materials' production phase is nitrogen fertilizer (N) production, and in the farming phase is chemical fertilizer use. The top 5 major pollutants that cause potential damage to human health in APS are carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3), nitrogen dioxide (N2O), nitrate (NO3), and sulfur oxides (SOx). The human health risk (HHR) is 5.84 × 10−2 disability-adjusted life year to cultivate 1 ha of the apple orchard 1 year, and the corresponding HCL is about 4230 Chinese yuan (CNY). Under the scenario analysis of a 15% reduction in chemical fertilizer use and a 20% increase in organic fertilizer (mainly dried sheep dung) use, most of the environmental impact categories have a decreasing trend, and the HCL decreased by 438 CNY of 10.36%. Therefore, chemical fertilizer (especially N) is the most critical environmental hotspot in APS, and our results suggest that the replacement of chemical fertilizers by organic fertilizers is an effective solution to reduce the potential EB and HCL and improve the sustainability of the APS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors seek to establish which factors are appropriate for defensive investors, where defensiveness is defined along three dimensions: low risk of permanent capital loss, low business cycle risk, and low market risk. They analyze a range of volatility and quality factor characteristics through both a theoretical and empirical lens, discovering that low leverage, earnings volatility, and return volatility are the most consistently defensive. Profitability is the next most powerful characteristic, though for it to be reliably defensive, leverage must be controlled for in its definition or implementation. Asset turnover and earnings quality, measured by the level of accruals, have also empirically behaved like defensive characteristics, though to a lesser extent and less consistently. Low investment had lackluster results in all tests, whereas high forecast growth is confirmed to be entirely inappropriate for defensive investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All financial planning strategies involve purchasing assets and holding them for a period of time before either selling them or gifting them to another individual or entity. Planners need to understand what tax liability they are creating for their clients when they sell different assets so that they are able to create a holistic plan for their client. It is important to consider what the client's after-tax rate of return will be if they follow their investment strategy as well. Otherwise, there could be a shortfall in funds if a planner did not account for tax liability as an expense and the client may not meet their financial goals. This column seeks to inform financial planners of different strategies to utilize when developing investment strategies for their clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the interaction between non-arm's length income (NALI) provisions and capital gains tax (CGT) provisions in Australian tax law, with a focus on the ATO's view outlined in TD 2023/D1. It covers topics such as the practical application of NALI and CGT provisions, calculations, and the potential impact of non-arm's length capital gains on arm's length capital gains, highlighting the need for careful consideration and compliance with the ATO's interpretation.

Copyright of Die Unternehmensbesteuerung (Ubg) is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the effects of a COVID-19 outbreak on levels of social capital on a college campus, drawing on survey data collected from students at two colleges—one that experienced an outbreak and one that did not. Social capital is examined as an individual level resource and as a campus level normative tool used to fight collective action problems. We test the hypothesis that the outbreak, as a "shock" to the campus, diminished social capital. We also test hypotheses on gender, race, and ethnicity and social capital, informed by prior research. Our findings suggest that the outbreak did reduce social capital at both the individual and campus levels, though individual social capital had a mitigating effect that increased campus social capital. We find also that gender was significantly linked to campus social capital, while race was predictive of individual level social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the relatively uncontested importance of promoting school attendance in the policy arena, little evidence exists on the causal effect of school absence on long-run outcomes. We address this question by combining historical and administrative records for cohorts of Swedish individuals born in the 1930s. We find that elementary school absence significantly reduces contemporaneous academic performance, final educational attainment and labour income throughout the life cycle. The findings are consistent with a dynamic model of human capital formation, whereby absence causes small immediate learning losses, which cumulate to larger human capital losses over time and lead to worse labour market performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]