Capitalization of Capital Gains Taxes: Evidence from Stock Price Reactions to the 1997 Rate Reduction

We empirically document that stock prices moved inversely with dividend yields during the May, 1997 week, when the White House and Congress agreed on a budget accord that included a reduction in the capital gains tax rate. The share prices of firms not currently paying dividends increased approximately 6 percentage points more over a five-day window than the share prices of other firms. Among firms paying dividends, the change in share prices was decreasing in dividend yields. The results are consistent with at least two related explanations. First, to the extent a stock's returns are expected to be taxed as capital gains, a reduction in the expected capital gains tax rate enhances the attractiveness of the investment to investors. Second, to the extent a firm's stock is held by shareholders subject to the capital gains tax, a reduction in the expected capital gains tax rate increases its market value. The findings present evidence consistent with neither a sell-off of appreciated securities following the rate reduction nor a reduction in the compensation for capital gains taxes that selling shareholders demand from buyers. The upward price pressure around the accord dominated any downward price pressure imposed by these factors.

Quantum phase transition in the Dicke model with critical and non-critical entanglement

We study the quantum phase transition of the Dicke model in the classical oscillator limit, where it occurs already for finite spin length. In contrast to the classical spin limit, for which spin-oscillator entanglement diverges at the transition, entanglement in the classical oscillator limit remains small. We derive the quantum phase transition with identical critical behavior in the two classical limits and explain the differences with respect to quantum fluctuations around the mean-field ground state through an effective model for the oscillator degrees of freedom. With numerical data for the full quantum model we study convergence to the classical limits. We contrast the classical oscillator limit with the dual limit of a high frequency oscillator, where the spin degrees of freedom are described by the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model. An alternative limit can be defined for the Rabi case of spin length one-half, in which spin frequency renormalization replaces the quantum phase transition.Comment: 1o pages, 10 figures, published versio

First excited state calculation using different phonon bases for the two-site Holstein model

The single-electron energy and static charge-lattice deformation correlations have been calculated for the first excited state of a two-site Holstein model within perturbative expansions using different standard phonon bases obtained through Lang-Firsov (LF) transformation, LF with squeezed phonon states, modified LF, modified LF transformation with squeezed phonon states, and also within weak-coupling perturbation approach. Comparisons of the convergence of the perturbative expansions for different phonon bases reveal that modified LF approach works much better than other approaches for major range of the coupling strength.Comment: 11 pages (REVTEX), 4 postscript figure

Momentum average approximation for models with boson-modulated hopping: Role of closed loops in the dynamical generation of a finite quasiparticle mass

We generalize the momentum average approximation to study the properties of single polarons in models with boson affected hopping, where the fermion-boson scattering depends explicitly on both the fermion's and the boson's momentum. As a specific example, we investigate the Edwards fermion-boson model in both one and two dimensions. In one dimension, this allows us to compare our results with exact diagonalization results, to validate the accuracy of our approximation. The generalization to two-dimensional lattices allows us to calculate the polaron's quasiparticle weight and dispersion throughout the Brillouin zone and to demonstrate the importance of Trugman loops in generating a finite effective mass even when the free fermion has an infinite mass.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure

Who controls East Asian corporations ?

The authors identify the ultimate ownership structure for 2,980 corporations in nine East Asian countries. They find that: A) More than half of those firms are controlled be a single shareholder. B) Smaller firms and older firms are more likely to be family-controlled. C) Patterns of controlling ownership stakes differ across countries. The concentration of control generally diminishes with higher economic and institutional development. D) In many countries control is enhanced though pyramid structures and deviations from one-share-one-vote rules. As a result, voting rights exceed cash-flow rights. E) Management is rarely separated from ownership control, and management in two thirds of the firms that are not widely held is related to management of the controlling shareholder. F) In some countries, wealth is very concentrated and links between government andbusiness are extensive, so the legal system has probably been influenced by the prevailing ownership structure.Small and Medium Size Enterprises,Microfinance,Small Scale Enterprise,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Microfinance,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Small Scale Enterprise,Rural Land Policies for Poverty Reduction,Economic Theory&Research

Grape berry splitting and some mechanical properties of the skin

Das Platzen von Weinbeeren und einige mechanische Eigenschaften der BeerenhautZur Messung von mechanischen Eigenschaften der Haut reifender Weinbeeren wurden Methoden entwickelt, bei denen definierte Wassermengen über feine, durch die Beerenstielchen eingeführte Injektionsnadeln in die Beeren injiziert wurden. Die Injektionen erhöhten den Turgor der Beeren; nach Erreichen eines Fließstillstands in der Nadel wurde dieser gemessen. Im Bereich niedriger Drücke war die Ausdehnung der Beerenhaut elastisch, bei höheren Drücken war sie plastisch, wobei irreversible Veränderungen der Beerenhaut erkennbar wurden. Bei sehr hohen Drücken platzten die Beeren in einer Weise, wie sie auch im Freiland zu beobachten ist. Messungen an Beeren von 9 Rebsorten bei konstanter Temperatur (15 °C) ergaben Unterschiede im Elastizitätsmodul (1700-5400 N m-1), in der Platzspannung (110-420 N m-1) und bei der linearen Ausdehnungsmeßzahl (0,027-0,112). Wie bei den meisten Materialien nahm die Starrheit und Härte der Beeren mit steigender Temperatur ab (10, 30, 50 °C). Veränderungen der Beerentemperatur verursachten Veränderungen im Druck (0,44 ± 0,1 kPa °C-1). Höhere Temperaturen und Drücke (50 °C, 40 kPa) hatten dauerhafte, plastische Deformationen zur Folge. Es kann angenommen werden, daß die sortenspezifische Neigung zum Platzen der Beeren mit den mechanischen Eigenschaften der Beerenhaut zu erklären ist

Xylem development and function in the grape peduncle: Relations to bunch stem necrosis

Using a simple flow test evidence is provided that in some grape varieties xylem development is suppressed just distal to each node of the peduncle system. A little further along, development is again normal giving a bottleneck appearance. The bottleneck would appear to offer a high resistance to xylem sap flow both because of its reduced area of cross-section and because of its having only small, primary vessels. The varieties exhibiting a distinct bottleneck tend to be those susceptible to bunch stem necrosis whereas the ones without it tend not to be susceptible

Weather effects of stalk necrosis in Vitis

A 5-step physiological explanation is offered for correlations found by THEILER and MÜLLER (1986) between aspects of the weather at flowering and the incidence of stalk necrosis in grape. Four of the steps are well supported in the literature and are discussed briefly. The other step proposes that the development of xylem in the peduncle is stimulated by floral evapotranspiration. This postulate is tested with measurements of xylem cross-sectional area in clusters taken from vineyards located in diverse regions of New Zealand for which meteorological data were available. Statistical analysis indicates a clear distinction between material from the climatic extremes and a significant (P = 0.05) correlation between calculated values of evapotranspiration during flowering and peduncular xylem area. The beginning of a physiological explanation for the seasonal effects on the incidence of stalk necrosis in grape has stimulated studies which may allow the selection of non-sensitive varieties

Optical properties of small polarons from dynamical mean-field theory

The optical properties of polarons are studied in the framework of the Holstein model by applying the dynamical mean-field theory. This approach allows to enlighten important quantitative and qualitative deviations from the limiting treatments of small polaron theory, that should be considered when interpreting experimental data. In the antiadiabatic regime, accounting on the same footing for a finite phonon frequency and a finite electron bandwidth allows to address the evolution of the optical absorption away from the well-understood molecular limit. It is shown that the width of the multiphonon peaks in the optical spectra depends on the temperature and on the frequency in a way that contradicts the commonly accepted results, most notably in the strong coupling case. In the adiabatic regime, on the other hand, the present method allows to identify a wide range of parameters of experimental interest, where the electron bandwidth is comparable or larger than the broadening of the Franck-Condon line, leading to a strong modification of both the position and the shape of the polaronic absorption. An analytical expression is derived in the limit of vanishing broadening, which improves over the existing formulas and whose validity extends to any finite-dimensional lattice. In the same adiabatic regime, at intermediate values of the interaction strength, the optical absorption exhibits a characteristic reentrant behavior, with the emergence of sharp features upon increasing the temperature -- polaron interband transitions -- which are peculiar of the polaron crossover, and for which analytical expressions are provided.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure