The tax rate on capital gains of equity has varied substantially over time and correlates negatively with realized capital gains and tax revenue. In our model, investors who anticipate the dynamics of the tax rate in their bond–equity mix realize greater gains when realized equity returns are higher, the capital gains tax rate is lower, and capital losses carried forward are larger. Simulating a calibrated population of investors produces model data consistent with tax revenue from capital gains realizations. Our model can inform the policymaker’s choice of the capital gains tax rate.

We study the consumption-portfolio problem in a setting with capital gain taxes and multiple risky stocks to understand how short selling influences portfolio choice with a shorting-the-box restriction. Our analysis uncovers a novel trading flexibility strategy whereby, to minimize future tax-induced trading costs, the investor optimally shorts one of the stocks (or equivalently, buys put options) even when no stock has an embedded gain. Alternatively, an imperfect form of shorting the box can reduce aggregate equity exposure ex post. Given these two short selling strategies, it is common for an unconstrained investor to short some equity while a constrained investor holds a positive investment in all stocks. With no shorting, the benefit of trading separately in multiple stocks is not economically significant.

We present an equilibrium model of hedging for commodity processing firms. We show the optimal hedge ratio depends on the convexity of the firm’s cost function and the elasticity of the supply of the input and the demand for the output. Our calibrated model suggests that hedging tends to be ineffective. When uncertainty comes exclusively from either the supply or from the demand side, updating the hedge dynamically, and using nonlinear contracts improves hedging effectiveness. However, with both supply and demand uncertainty, hedging effectiveness can be low even with option-based and dynamic hedging strategies.

ABSTRACT This paper develops a structural model that determines default spreads in a setting where the debt's collateral is endogenously determined by the borrower's investment choice, and a demand variable with permanent and temporary components. We also consider the possibility that the borrower cannot commit to taking the value‐maximizing investment choice, and may, in addition, be constrained in its ability to raise external capital. Based on a model calibrated to data on office buildings and commercial mortgages, we present numerical simulations that quantify the extent to which investment flexibility, incentive problems, and credit constraints affect default spreads.

Empirical studies of household portfolios show that young households, with little financial wealth, hold underdiversified portfolios that are concentrated in a small number of assets, a fact often attributed to behavioral biases. We present a potential rational alternative: we show that investors with little financial wealth, who receive labor income, rationally limit the number of assets they invest in when faced with financial constraints such as margin requirements and restrictions on borrowing. We provide theoretical and numerical support for our results and identify the ratio of financial wealth to labor income as a useful control variable for household portfolio studies.

We analyze competition and risk management at central counterparties (CCPs) using a granular transaction-level dataset, and find that CCPs decrease collateral in response to lower collateral at their competitors, an effect that becomes stronger as the correlation between positions increases. To interpret our findings, we derive a model in which collateral is driven by risk and CCP competition. Our results are consistent with the model and suggest that a single monopolistic CCP would require more collateral. We also show that amid the substantial increase in collateral during the Covid-19 pandemic, the probability of a margin breach did not significantly change.