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Taking Advantage of the Infrastructure Boom: The Case for Taxable Municipal Bonds

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Taxable municipal bonds infographic

taxable municipal bonds

The Case for Taxable Municipal Bonds for Investors

If youโ€™re a homeowner, there are probably a few things youโ€™ve been neglecting to do. Perhaps the kitchen needs upgrading, or the roof needs replacing. We tend to procrastinate on these improvements due to large renovation costs, until it hits a point where we canโ€™t ignore them anymore. This is the state that U.S. infrastructure has reachedโ€”on a national scale.

Todayโ€™s infographic from New York Life Investments highlights the level of disrepair in U.S. infrastructure. It also explores why taxable municipal bonds, which will finance the required infrastructure upgrades, provide such an interesting investment opportunity.

Falling Apart at the Seams

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ACSE) regularly assesses the nationโ€™s infrastructureโ€”things like bridges, airports, and drinking waterโ€”and scores it in a โ€˜report cardโ€™. After decades of neglect, the U.S. only scored a D+ in 2017.

The ASCE estimates that $4 trillion is needed to bring infrastructure up to a B grade, $1.3 trillion of which will be provided by state and local governments.

The urgent needs for increased investment in Americaโ€™s infrastructure continue to grow and our nationโ€™s economic vitality and quality of life are at stake.

โ€” Ed Mortimer, U.S. Chamber Vice President of Transportation and Infrastructure

U.S. municipal bonds will be the primary funding source for this massive financing need. These bonds are quite popular with individual U.S. investors, as the interest income from most municipal bonds is not subject to federal income tax.

However, the U.S. tax code limits the volume of non-taxable bonds issued, and the purposes for issuing them. As a result, many local and state governments have been turning to taxable municipal bonds to finance their infrastructure projects.

The Muni Opportunity

Taxable municipal bonds are a potentially attractive investment for many reasons.

1. Competitive Historical Yield and Strong Returns
In the last decade, a lagging global economy led to historically low interest ratesโ€”many sovereign (national) bonds fell into negative territory. Taxable municipal bonds provided an alternative source of yield potential, outpacing the yields of comparable treasury bonds in some cases.

Not only that, but in the post-crisis era, taxable municipal bonds have averaged a return of 6.9% per year, beating the 4.6% performance on U.S. corporate investment-grade bonds, a staple in most institutional portfolios.

2. High-Quality, Stable Credit Ratings
Most municipal bonds are high quality with low default rates, making them attractive to risk-conscious investors.

 U.S. MunicipalsGlobal Corporates
Rating SpreadOver 76% rated A+ or betterOnly about 10% are AA rated
Tiny portion below investment gradeNearly half are below investment grade
Default Rate0.81% for those rated BAA by S&P0.84% for those rated AAA by S&P

Historically, municipal bond ratings have also been far more stable than that of global corporates.

3. Inefficient pricing
The municipal bond market is highly fragmented, and most issues are too small to be included in a market index.

This market fragmentation, combined with limited sell-side research and many buy-and-hold investors, often leads to inefficient pricing. Active investors have the potential to generate higher returns by applying their credit research and trading skills.

4. Low Correlations
Correlation measures the degree to which two securities move in relation to each other. In general, taxable municipal bonds have a low correlation to other fixed-income sectors. This means they help provide portfolio diversification and reduce volatility.

5. Longer durations
Since taxable municipal bonds fund long-term capital projects, they are usually financed with longer maturing bonds. Institutional investors welcome this source of long-duration assets, as they can match them up with their long-dated obligations.

A Compelling Portfolio Addition

Taxable municipal bonds have many positive qualities that make them a strong contender for investment. When added to a diversified fixed-income portfolio, they may also improve the risk/return profile.

As the U.S. begins to revitalize its infrastructure, taxable municipal bonds present a strongโ€”and often overlookedโ€”opportunity for investors.

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World Beer Index 2021: What’s the Beer Price in Your Country?

The global desire for beer prevails even in a pandemic. These maps compare the average beer price in 58 countriesโ€”just how much do we drink?

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What’s the Beer Price in Your Country?

View the high resolution of this infographic by clicking here.

Although fewer people have been able to grab a beer at the pub during this pandemic, the global desire for beer prevails. For example, sales of the Corona beer actually shot up in the past year, despiteโ€”or perhaps because ofโ€”associations with the coronavirus.

This World Beer Index from Expensivity compares the average price of a bottle of beer in 58 countries in a detailed map. Additionally, we show which countries spend the most on beer per capita, and just how much beer people really drink.

Pricey Pints: The Average Beer Price

Researchers calculated the average price of a typical bottle of beer (330ml, just shy of a pint) from well known brands via online stores and statistics database Numbeo. In addition, local beer prices were pulled from hotel and bar menus, and average values converted to USD.

In Qatar, youโ€™d have to shell out $11.26 for a single beer, which would surely make for a really expensive night out on the town. In part, this is because in 2019, the Muslim-majority country introduced a 100% excise tax on top the previous sales price of all alcohol imports.

These steep prices are aimed at touristsโ€”and with Qatar hosting the 2022 menโ€™s soccer World Cup, there’ll be thousands of visitors in the country looking for a cold one at any price.

RankCountryCapital CityAverage Price of a Beer
1South AfricaPretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town$1.68
2UkraineKyiv$1.76
3ArgentinaBuenos Aires$1.79
4Bosnia And HerzegovinaSarajevo$1.96
5GhanaAccra$2.05
6TunisiaTunis$2.09
7GeorgiaTbilisi$2.30
8North MacedoniaSkopje$2.34
9ChileSantiago$2.40
10Czech Republic (Czechia)Prague$2.49
11RwandaKigali$2.52
12BrazilBrasilia$2.52
13HaitiPort Au Prince$2.66
14ColombiaBogota$2.72
15SpainMadrid$2.74
16PanamaPanama City$2.74
17Sri LankaColombo$2.77
18HungaryBudapest$2.84
19ArmeniaYerevan$2.96
20IndonesiaJakarta$3.17
21AzerbaijanBaku$3.18
22GuyanaGeorgetown$3.39
23BoliviaSanta Cruz$3.42
24KazakhstanNur-Sultan$3.44
25BelgiumBrussels$3.47
26TurkeyIstanbul$3.61
27MaltaValletta$3.65
28BelarusMinsk$3.72
29EgyptCairo$3.80
30IndiaNew Delhi$3.90
31CanadaOttawa$3.96
32AustriaVienna$3.99
33WalesCardiff$4.06
34NepalKathmandu$4.13
35ScotlandEdinburgh$4.18
36GreeceAthens$4.25
37PhilippinesManila$4.25
38PolandWarsaw$4.37
39MexicoMexcio City$4.46
40LithuaniaVilnius$4.55
41South KoreaSeoul$4.56
42NetherlandsAmsterdam$4.60
43GermanyBerlin$4.64
44MalaysiaKuala Lumpur$4.74
45United StatesWashington D.C.$4.75
46ThailandBangkok$4.82
47PortugalLisbon$5.06
48RussiaMoscow$5.08
49SingaporeSingapore$5.17
50DenmarkCopenhagen$5.20
51ItalyRome$5.83
52EnglandLondon$5.97
53JapanTokyo$6.16
54SwitzerlandBern$6.23
55FranceParis$6.39
56ChinaBeijing$7.71
57JordanAmman$9.40
58QatarDoha$11.26

At just $1.68 per bottle, South Africa has the lowest average beer price thanks at least partially to cultural norms of buying in bulk.

Cashing In: The Per Capita Spend on Beer

The price of a single beer is one thing, but which countries spend the most on beer itself? Germany unsurprisingly tops the list here with nearly $2,000 of expenditures per capita, bolstered by its strong beer culture and annual Oktoberfest celebration.

Germany also prides itself on the purity of its beerโ€”the vast majority of brewers follow the Reinheitsgebot, centuries-old purity laws that broadly state that beer may contain only three ingredients: water, barley, and hops.

World Beer Index 2021 - Per Capita Spend on Beer 820px
View the high resolution of this infographic by clicking here.

Following closely behind is Poland, which spends $1,738 per capita. Meanwhile, the U.S. ranks eighth in the world for the highest spending on beer per capita at $1,554โ€”beer is also the countryโ€™s most popular alcoholic beverage.

Getting Boozy: How Much Beer Do People Drink?

Using data from the World Health Organization, the visualization below also digs into how much beer is consumed around the world per capita.

The Czech Republic emerges on top in this regard, with 468 beers on average in a yearโ€”that works out to 1.3 beers per day. Spain and Germany are next with 417 and 411 beers, respectively.

World Beer Index 2021 - Per Capita Beer Consumption 820px
View the high resolution of this infographic by clicking here.

On the flip side, people in Haiti only drink about four beers yearly. This may be because they prefer something a little strongerโ€”97% of alcohol consumption in the nation comes from spirits such as rum.

Beer has been around for over 7,000 years. No matter the beer price in your country, itโ€™s worth raising a glass to the timelessness of this humble beverage.

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The Population of China in Perspective

China is the world’s most populous country. But how does the population of China compare to the rest of the world?

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population of china

The Population of China in Perspective

China is the worldโ€™s most populous country with an astounding 1.44 billion citizens. Altogether, the size of the population of China is larger than nearly four regions combined: South America, Europe (excluding Russia), the U.S. & Canada, and Australia & New Zealand.

Using data from the United Nations, this unconventional map reveals the comparative size of China’s population next to a multitude of other countries.

Note: To keep the visualization easy to read, we’ve simplified the shapes representing countries. For example, although we’ve included Alaska and Hawaii in U.S. population totals, the U.S. is represented by the contiguous states map only.

A Historical Perspective

Looking at history, the population of China has more than doubled since the 1950s. The country was the first in the world to hit one billion people in 1980.

However, in 1979, in an attempt to control the burgeoning population, the infamous one-child policy was introduced, putting controls on how many children Chinese citizens could have.

While the government eventually recognized the negative implications of this policy, it appeared to be too little, too late. The two-child policy was introduced in 2016, but it has not yet reversed the current slowdown inย population growth.

YearChina's Population (Millions)Annual Rate of Growth (%)Median AgeFertility Rate
1955612.22.00%22.26.11
1960660.41.53%21.35.48
1965724.21.86%19.86.15
1970827.62.70%19.36.30
1975926.22.28%20.34.85
19801,000.11.55%21.93.01
19851,075.61.47%23.52.52
19901,176.91.82%24.92.73
19951,240.91.07%27.41.83
20001,290.60.79%30.01.62
20051,330.80.62%32.61.61
20101,368.80.57%35.01.62
20151,406.80.55%36.71.64
20161,414.00.51%37.01.65
20171,421.00.49%37.01.65
20181,427.60.47%37.01.65
20191,433.80.43%37.01.65
20201,439.30.39%38.41.69

The fertility rate has been consistently falling from over 6 births per woman in 1955 to 1.69 in 2020. Today, the median age in China is 38 years old, rising from 22 in 1955. Longer life spans and fewer births form a demographic trend that has many social and economic implications.

Overall, Chinaโ€™s young population is becoming scarcer, meaning that the domestic labor market will eventually begin shrinking. Additionally, the larger share of elderly citizens will require publicly-funded resources, resulting in a heavier societal and financial burden.

Strength in Numbers

Despite these trends, however, Chinaโ€™s current population remains massive, constituting almost 20% of the worldโ€™s total population. Right now 71% of the Chinese population is between the ages of 15 and 65 years old, meaning that the labor supply is still immense.

Here are the populations of 65 countries from various regions of the worldโ€”and added together, you’ll see they still fall short of the population of China:

CountryPopulation Region
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.331,002,651North America
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada37,742,154North America
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil212,559,417South America
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombia50,882,891South America
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentina45,195,774South America
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peru32,971,854South America
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช Venezuela28,435,940South America
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chile19,116,201South America
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Ecuador17,643,054South America
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivia11,673,021South America
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ Paraguay7,132,538South America
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Uruguay3,473,730South America
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ Guyana786,552South America
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท Suriname586,632South America
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ซ French Guyana298,682South America
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Falkland Islands3,480South America
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia25,499,884Oceania
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand4,822,233Oceania
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany83,783,942Europe
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France65,273,511Europe
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands17,134,872Europe
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium11,589,623Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria9,006,398Europe
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland8,654,622Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg625,978Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จ Monaco39,242Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Liechtenstein38,128Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy60,461,826Europe
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain46,754,778Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece10,423,054Europe
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal10,196,709Europe
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia8,737,371Europe
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia4,105,267Europe
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina3,280,819Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albania2,877,797Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North Macedonia2,083,374Europe
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia2,078,938Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช Montenegro628,066Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น Malta441,543Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Andorra77,265Europe
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ San Marino33,931Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Gibraltar33,691Europe
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฆ Vatican City801Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom67,886,011Europe
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden10,099,265Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark5,792,202Europe
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland5,540,720Europe
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway5,421,241Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland4,937,786Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania2,722,289Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvia1,886,198Europe
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonia1,326,535Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland341,243Europe
Channel Islands173,863Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Isle of Man85,033Europe
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ด Faroe Islands48,863Europe
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine43,733,762Europe
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland37,846,611Europe
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania19,237,691Europe
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czechia10,708,981Europe
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary9,660,351Europe
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ Belarus9,449,323Europe
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria6,948,445Europe
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia5,459,642Europe
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova4,033,963Europe
Total1,431,528,252

To break it down even further, here’s a look at the population of each of the regions listed above:

  • Australia and New Zealand: 30.3 million
  • Europe (excluding Russia): 601.7 million
  • South America: 430.8 million
  • The U.S. and Canada: 368.7 million

Combined their population is 1.432 billion compared to China’s 1.439 billion.

Overall, the population of China has few comparables. India is one exception, with a population of 1.38 billion. As a continent, Africa comes in close as well at 1.34 billion people. Here’s a breakdown of Africa’s population for further comparison.

CountryPopulation Region
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria206,139,589Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana31,072,940Africa
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cรดte d'Ivoire26,378,274Africa
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger24,206,644Africa
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso20,903,273Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali20,250,833Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal16,743,927Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea13,132,795Africa
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin12,123,200Africa
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo8,278,724Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone7,976,983Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia5,057,681Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท Mauritania4,649,658Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia2,416,668Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-Bissau1,968,001Africa
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cabo Verde555,987Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ Saint Helena6,077Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa59,308,690Africa
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia2,540,905Africa
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana2,351,627Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho2,142,249Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Eswatini1,160,164Africa
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt102,334,404Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Algeria43,851,044Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Sudan43,849,260Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco36,910,560Africa
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia11,818,619Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ Libya6,871,292Africa
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ Western Sahara597,339Africa
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Democratic Republic of the Congo89,561,403Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola32,866,272Africa
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon26,545,863Africa
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad16,425,864Africa
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Congo5,518,087Africa
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic4,829,767Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabon2,225,734Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial Guinea1,402,985Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น Sao Tome and Principe219,159Africa
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia114,963,588Africa
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania59,734,218Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya53,771,296Africa
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda45,741,007Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique31,255,435Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar27,691,018Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi19,129,952Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia18,383,955Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia15,893,222Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe14,862,924Africa
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda12,952,218Africa
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi11,890,784Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan11,193,725Africa
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท Eritrea3,546,421Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius1,271,768Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Djibouti988,000Africa
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ช Rรฉunion895,312Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Comoros869,601Africa
๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡น Mayotte272,815Africa
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles98,347Africa
Total1,340,598,147

Future Outlook on the Population of China

Whether or not Chinaโ€™s population growth is slowing appears to be less relevant when looking at its sheer size. While India is expected to match the country’s population by 2026, China will remain one of the worldโ€™s largest economic powerhouses regardless.

It is estimated, however, that the population of China will drop below one billion people by the year 2100โ€”bumping the nation to third place in the ranking of the worldโ€™s most populous countries. At the same time, it’s possible that China’s economic dominance may be challenged by these same demographic tailwinds as time moves forward.

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