Repatriation taxes, repatriation strategies and multinational financial policy

Several investment-repatriation strategies are added to the standard model of a multinational in which an affiliate is located in a low-tax country and is limited to two alternatives: repatriating taxable dividends to the parent or investing in its own real operations. In our model, affiliates can invest in passive assets, which the parent can borrow against, or in related affiliates which can be used as vehicles for tax-favored repatriations. We show analytically how the availability of alternative strategies can effect real investment throughout the worldwide corporation. We use firm level data for US multinationals to test for the importance of alternative strategies. The evidence is generally consistent with the theory, particularly the strategies using related affiliates.     

The Determinants of Systematic Risk: A Synthesis

This paper contains a review and synthesis of the theoretical research that has examined the corporate determinats of systematic risk (beta). By delineating the underlying assumptions and by using a consistent notation to summarize the research results, this review is designed to facilitate the beta assessment efforts of financial managers, investment analysts, and academic researchers.     

Nonprofit Lobbying: Museums and Collections Capitalization

This research examines the museum characteristics associated with lobbying on the 1990 FASB Exposure Draft (FASB, 1990) that would have required US museums to capitalize their collections. A sample of 103 museums that lobbied on the Exposure Draft is compared to a matched sample of museums that did not choose to lobby. The results reveal that museums which lobbied are larger, older, and members of or accredited by the American Association of Museums. Also, proportionately more private museums and art museums than exist in the overall US museum population chose to lobby on the proposed requirement.     

Vienna's path to sustainable transport

Vienna, Austria reduced the car share of trips by a third between 1993 and 2014: from 40% to 27%. The key to Vienna's success has been a coordinated package of mutually reinforcing transport and land-use policies that have made car use slower, less convenient, and more costly, while improving conditions for walking, cycling, and public transport. During 32 in-person interviews in Vienna in May 2015, a wide range of politicians, transport planners, and academics almost unanimously identified the expansion of the U-Bahn (metro) and parking management as the most important policies accounting for the reduction in car mode share since 1993. Implementation of sustainable transport policies in Vienna has been a long-term, multi-staged process requiring compromises, political deals, and coalition-building among political parties and groups of stakeholders. This consensual approach to policy development has been time-consuming. Vienna has not been the first city to introduce any particular policy, but it has masterfully adopted successful policies from other cities. The continuity of social democratic governments in Vienna since 1945 has provided a crucial political basis for long-term implementation. The Greens have vigorously pushed for accelerating implementation of sustainable transport policies since becoming part of the ruling coalition government in 2010. The progressive political environment in Vienna has been essential to its increasingly sustainable transport system. Other major cities in Western Europe have also reduced the share of trips by car since 1990. Together with Vienna, they provide useful lessons for other cities throughout the world on how to reduce car dependence.     

Cost-effectiveness of everolimus plus reduced tacrolimus in de novo liver-recipients in the Italian setting

Introduction: Long-term exposure to calcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppressant (IS) therapy in liver transplant (LT) recipients is associated with renal complications. In the randomized trial H2304, everolimus?+?reduced-dose tacrolimus (EVR?+?rTAC) demonstrated equivalent efficacy and superior renal function compared to standard-dose tacrolimus.

Methods: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of EVR?+?rTAC vs TAC, in de novo LT patients, a Markov model simulating both liver and kidney function was developed and estimated the long-term outcomes of IS following LT. The analysis used the Italian healthcare payer perspective.

Results: Patients treated with EVR?+?rTAC gained on average 1.92 years and 1.62 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were €35,851 and €42,567 for LY gained and QALY gained, respectively. For the hepatitis-c sub-population, the ICERs decreased to €22,519 and €30,658, respectively.

Conclusion: EVR?+?rTAC improves survival and quality-of-life and is a cost-effective alternative to calcineurin-inhibitor monotherapy for patients requiring LT.     

“We'll turn your water into Coca‐Cola”: The atomizing practices of oil palm plantation development in Indonesia

This article discusses land control strategies and practices for development of large‐scale oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. In oil palm and “land grab” literature, much attention is paid to potential contributions of free, prior, and informed consent procedures. However, this article demonstrates how “atomizing” practices obstruct such procedures. Some practices stand out: During a preparatory phase of plantation development, companies remain in the background and leave actual land acquisition to local authorities and villagers, thus obscuring their agenda for plantation development. Second, rather than negotiating land transfer in public meetings, companies use a combination of promises, bribes, and threats to gain support or to enforce acceptance. Third, companies gain support by “wedging” themselves into communities, exacerbating disparities within communities. Analysis of this atomized process of plantation development is crucial for a critical understanding of oil palm conflicts.     

Charity brand personality: can smaller charitable organizations leverage their brand's personality to influence giving

The importance of establishing a strong brand identity has been the focus for consumer brand managers for decades. Organizations develop and communicate a distinctive brand personality as a means of attracting consumers and cultivating long‐term relationships. While the concept of branding has gained recent attention as an important strategy for nonprofit practitioners, little empirical data exist on the role a charity's brand personality might play in attracting donors. A few recent studies of large national charitable organizations provide support that charities exhibit distinctive personalities. This study explores whether smaller, local scope charitable organizations, without the benefit of national brand recognition, also exhibit distinctive brand personalities and whether such brand personalities influence donors. Results from five charitable organizations, from four distinct categories of cause, find that brand personality traits that are both differentiating and relevant to donors influence charitable giving. The findings provide nonprofit practitioners with valuable insights for leveraging their brand's personality to turn donor awareness into commitment and establish a stronger market position. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Not‐for‐Profit Annual Reports: What do Museum Managers Communicate?

This study addresses: (1) What disclosures are provided in annual reports of not‐for‐profit entities?(2) What characteristics of the reporting entities explain variations in the quantity of financial disclosure?(3) How do not‐for‐profit disclosures compare with those in for‐profit corporate reports? The annual reports of 170 not‐for‐profit museums were examined. The reports were highly variable. Some contained no financial data and only 22 percent included complete financial statements with footnotes. Regression analysis indicated that the amount of museum financial data was positively associated with museum size, a larger number of pages of donor disclosures, and museum type (art and history, but not science, natural history, or general).     

U.S. interest-allocation rules: Effects and policy

In 1986, the U.S. government undertook a significant reform of its income tax system. One important change for U.S. multinational corporations is related to the allocation of interest expense. This work analyzes the impact of the new U.S. interest allocation rules on the investment and financial decisions of U.S. multinationals. We test the effect of these rules on financing behavior using data from a survey of multinationals assembled by Price Waterhouse for this project. We also calculate effective tax rates for investments at home and abroad, taking the interest allocation rules into account.