Accelerated tax depreciation and farm investment: evidence from Michigan

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 364-375
Author(s):  
Leonard Polzin ◽  
Christopher A. Wolf ◽  
J. Roy Black

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of accelerated depreciation deductions, which includes Section 179 and bonus depreciation, taken in the first year of asset life by Michigan farms. The frequency, value and influence of accelerated depreciation on farm investment are also analyzed.Design/methodology/approachAccrual adjusted income statements, balance sheets, depreciation schedules, and income tax information for 66 Michigan farms from 2004 to 2014 provide data for the analysis. The present value of the accelerated deduction and change in the cost of capital were calculated. Finally, investment elasticities were used to arrive at the change in investment due to accelerated depreciation.FindingsAccelerated depreciation was utilized across all applicable asset classes. Section 179 was used more often than bonus depreciation in part because it was available in all the examined years. Based on actual farm business use, accelerated depreciation lowered the cost of capital for the operations resulting in an estimated increase in investment of 0.27 to 11.6 percent depending on asset class.Originality/valueThe data utilized are of a detail not available in previous investigations which used either aggregate data or estimated rather than the observed use of accelerated depreciation. This analysis reveals that accelerated depreciation as used by commercial farms lowers the cost of capital and thus encourages investment particularly in machinery and equipment.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Maffini ◽  
Jing Xing ◽  
Michael P. Devereux

Using UK corporation tax returns, we provide evidence on the effects of accelerated depreciation allowances on investment, exploiting exogenous changes in the qualifying thresholds for first-year depreciation allowances (FYAs) in 2004. The investment rate of qualifying companies increased by 2.1–2.5 percentage points relative to those that did not qualify. We exploit variation in the timing of tax payments to show that this effect is primarily due to the change in the cost of capital, rather than a relaxation of financial constraints. Discontinuity at notches in the cost of capital at the qualifying thresholds does not affect our results. (JEL D25, G31, H25, H32)


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Salvi ◽  
Nicola Raimo ◽  
Felice Petruzzella ◽  
Filippo Vitolla

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the financial consequences of the level of human capital (HC) information disclosed by firms through integrated reports. Specifically, this work examines the effect of HC information on the cost of capital and firm value.Design/methodology/approachA manual content analysis is used to measure the level of HC information contained in integrated reports. A fixed-effects regression model is used to analyse 375 observations (a balanced panel of 125 firms for the period 2017–2019) and test the financial consequences of HC disclosure.FindingsThe empirical outcomes indicate that HC disclosure has a significant and negative effect on the cost of capital and a positive impact on firm value. Our results show that companies can reduce investors' perceived firm risk by improving HC disclosure, leading to a lower cost of capital. Moreover, our findings support the notion that increased levels of HC disclosure are linked to firms' improved access to external financial resources, consequently enhancing firm value.Originality/valueThis study is the first contribution to examine the financial consequences of HC disclosure and is one of the first to examine the level of HC information within integrated reports.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Helm

Abstract The paper considers whether water privatization 30 years ago has delivered the promised superior performance to nationalization, which remains the dominant model in Europe. The paper sets out the arguments at privatization, in particular in relation to efficiency, the managerial incentives, the role of private-sector balance sheets in facilitating investment, and the impacts on the cost of capital. Alternative explanations of relative performance, notably the regulation model adopted, are highlighted, and the paper concludes by outlining an alternative model of water regulation which better marries up public responsibilities and private incentives.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 831-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Teti ◽  
Alberto Dell’Acqua ◽  
Leonardo Etro ◽  
Francesca Resmini

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the extent to which corporate governance (CG) systems adopted by Latin American listed firms affect their cost of equity capital. Several studies on the link between the two aforementioned dimensions have been carried out, but none in the context of Latin American firms. Design/methodology/approach A CG index is created by taking into account the peculiarities of each country and the recommendations given by the corresponding CG institutes. In particular, to assess the level of CG quality, three sub-indexes have been identified: “Disclosure”, “Board of Directors” and “Shareholder Rights, Ownership and Control Structure”. Findings The results indicate a negative relationship between CG quality and the cost of equity. In particular, the “Disclosure” component is the one mostly affecting the cost of equity. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the literature by adding knowledge on the relationship between CG and cost of capital considering, for the first time, the overall Latin American market. Practical implications The paper proves that institutional investors all over the world are disposed to pay a premium to invest in firms with effective CG standards; moreover, this premium is higher in emerging countries such as those analyzed in this paper, rather than in developed countries. Originality/value To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper empirically investigating the relationship between CG and cost of capital in Latin America.


Subject Pricing political risk. Significance The mis-measurement of political risk is resulting in the cost of capital being valued 2-4 percentage points higher than it should be in assessments ahead of cross-border investment decisions. Research suggests that in 2016 this could have increased net foreign direct investment (FDI) to non-advanced countries by more than 10%. Impacts Political risk measurement is set for a renaissance, with interest from practitioners and end-users likely to proliferate. Frontier markets that are on the edge of inclusion in 'emerging' portfolio allocations could see an uptick in investment inflows. Returns to long-term capital managers, from insurers to pension funds, will rise as cost-of-capital calculations grow in sophistication.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Cajias ◽  
Franz Fuerst ◽  
Sven Bienert

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings on the ex ante cost of capital of more than 2,300 listed US companies in a panel from 2003 to 2010. It examines whether financial markets value continuous investment in CSR activities through higher market capitalization and lower cost of capital. Design/methodology/approach – The measure of the cost of capital reflects the perceived riskiness of individual companies expressed in the unobserved internal rate of return that investors expect to hold a risky asset. Based on descriptive portfolio estimations, panel and quantile regressions, the authors model the cost of equity capital as a function of CSR strengths and concerns obtained from the KLD-database and accounting controls. Findings – The authors show that firms' CSR strategies differ significantly across industry sectors. Customer-orientated companies such as telecommunications and automobile outperform asset-driven sectors such as real estate or chemical companies. Furthermore, the authors find a 10-bp positive effect for one standard deviation of firms' intensive allocation of resources in sustainable activities. Research limitations/implications – Since the authors are interested in the effect environmental, social and governance activities have on the firm's perceived market valuation rate, the authors apply the Fama-French model because of its efficiency in explaining realized returns, rather than incorporating analyst's long-term growth forecasts into the proxy for the equity premium. Practical implications – Managers of companies with low or intermediate CSR scores may consider the financial benefits of improving their social and environmental performance. A good starting point is usually to draw up a company-wide CSR agenda, possibly guided by a dedicated CSR task force, mapping out the potential costs and benefits of such measures. In addition, by improving their CSR ratings, a company may get access to additional resources, ranging from the growing ethical investment industry to employees for whom CSR performance matters when choosing an employer. Originality/value – The authors expand the existing literature by considering firm's CSR level to be in relation to the overall CSR performance and decompose firm's CSR agenda into strengths and concerns rather than counting the number of activities a firm is involved in. The applied methodology allows a better understanding of firm's CSR agenda and its implication for capital markets and investors on both long and short investment terms.


2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1669-1701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Cuadrado-Ballesteros ◽  
Isabel-Maria Garcia-Sanchez ◽  
Jennifer Martinez Ferrero

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze empirically the fundamental role that information asymmetry plays in the functioning of an efficient capital market as mediator in the relation between corporate disclosures and cost of capital. Design/methodology/approach – By using a sample of 1,260 international non-financial listed companies in the period 2007-2014. Findings – The findings suggest that high-quality financial and social disclosures quality reduce the cost of capital, by decreasing information asymmetry. In other words, the authors find evidence of the mediator role of information asymmetry in the relation between corporate disclosures and the cost of capital. These results are also controlled for differences on accounting standards and other institutional factors. Originality/value – The central assumption is that the demand for corporate disclosures that reduces the information advantages of some investors (who are more informed) arises from agency conflicts and these information differences in turn, determine the cost of capital. This paper is the first attempt to study, jointly, the effects of decreasing information asymmetries by corporate disclosures on the cost of capital in an international setting. In addition, the authors focussed on both financial and social disclosures, creating empirical proxies whose validity for the analysis has been evidenced.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Abdollahi ◽  
Mehdi Safari Gerayli ◽  
Yasser Rezaei Pitenoei ◽  
Davood Hassanpour ◽  
Fatemeh Riahi

Purpose A long history of literature has considered the role of information risk in determining the cost of equity. The question that has remained unanswered is whether information risk plays any systematic role in determining the cost of equity. One of the fundamental decisions that every business needs to make is to assess where to invest its funds and to re-evaluate, at regular intervals, the quality of its existing investments. The cost of capital is the most important yardstick to evaluate such decisions. Greater information is associated with the lower cost of capital via mitigating transaction costs and/or reducing estimation risk and stock returns. This study aims to investigate the impact of information risk on the cost of equity and corporate stock returns. Design/methodology/approach The research sample consists of 960 firm-year observations for companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2018. The research hypotheses were tested using multivariate regression models based on panel data. Findings The results reveal that information risk has a significant positive impact on the firm’s cost of equity. However, the impact of information risk on stock returns is not statistically significant. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, the current study is almost the first of its kind in the Iranian literature which investigates the subject matter; therefore, the findings of the study not only extend the extant theoretical literature concerning the information risk in developing countries including the emerging capital market of Iran but also help investors, capital market regulators and accounting standard setters to make timely decisions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ani L. Katchova ◽  
Mary Clare Ahearn

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use a linked-farm approach and a cohort approach to estimate farm entry and exit rates using the US Census of Agriculture. The number of new farms entering agriculture was re-estimated and adjusted upward since not all new and beginning farmers are known to US Department of Agriculture. Design/methodology/approach In addition to a linked-farm approach (linking farms over time), a cohort approach (farms that started operating in the same year) is used to determine exit rates conditional on the number of years a farm has been operating. Linear forecasting, moving-average forecasting, and using data from a later Census are used to re-estimate the number of new farms in their first year of operating. Findings Using the linked-farm approach, an average annual entry rate of 7.5 percent and exit rate of 8.5 percent is estimated for 2007 to 2012, which vary based on the farmer’s lifecycle. The cohort approach shows that exit rates are lower than 4 percent for the first 40 years of operating a farm business and then exit rates gradually increase. Revised estimates of approximately 70-80,000 new farms entering each year are calculated, which are considerably higher numbers than the 30-40,000 new farm entrants participating in the Census of Agriculture. Originality/value The linked-farm and cohort approaches are used to provide updated estimates for farm entry and exit using new Census data and to make comparisons with previous years. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to provide revised estimates for new farm entrants into US agriculture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Coffie ◽  
Ibrahim Bedi ◽  
Mohammed Amidu

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effects of audit quality on the cost of capital in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachNon-financial firms listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as well as non-listed firms from the database of Ghana Club 100 were included in the sample. Series are yearly, covering a sample of 40 firms during the six-year period, 2008-2013. The study employed the positivist research paradigm to establish the relationship between audit quality and the cost of capital.FindingsThere is evidence to suggest that the cost of debt and the overall cost of capital of firms in Ghana can be explained by the quality of the external auditors. The results also show that the large size of the board is associated with low cost of debt.Research limitations/implicationsThe fact that the choice of quality measure is based on firm size only and other measurements of audit quality could not be measured. Future research may examine how other approaches to measuring audit quality affect cost of capital.Practical implicationsThe results significant for those charged with assurance and regulation, as well as lenders and managers of companies.Originality/valueThe authors investigate how external auditing quality affects the cost of capital of firms operating in Ghana.


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