Long text in math equation in latex

Question

How can I generate equations (mostly text) as given in the figure below:

I am using align environment but it's not generating the intended results. Any solution would be appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

If you use a tabular or \parbox setting then the list may not break over a page (or may not break within the long item). As it is a list a more natural markup is to set it as a list:

\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{enumitem}
\begin{document}


\begin{description}[labelwidth=2cm,leftmargin=2cm,align=right,labelsep=0pt]
\item[$\mathit{TA}_{\mathit{it}}={}$]
 total accruals (net income from continuing operations ($\mathit{IB}$), minus operating cash flow\dots\\
\item[$A_{\mathit{it}-1}={}$]
 total assets for company $i$ at the end of year $t-1$,
\end{description}

\end{document}

Answer 2

Use a tabular:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}

\begin{tabular}{r@{$\;=\;$}p{9cm}}
$\mathit{TA}_{\mathit{it}}$ & total accruals (net income from continuing operations ($\mathit{IB}$), minus operating cash flow\dots\\
$A_{\mathit{it}-1}$         & total assets for company $i$ at the end of year $t-1$,
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

Answer 3

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}

\noindent\rule{\linewidth}{1pt}

\begin{align*}
  TA_{it} &= \parbox[t]{0.8\linewidth}{some nonsense text I am using align environment but it's not generating the intended results. Any solution would be appreciated.}\\
  A_{it-1} &= \parbox[t]{0.8\linewidth}{some nonsense text I am using align environment \ldots}
\end{align*}

\end{document}

It also possible to use a tabularx environment.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tabularx}
\begin{document}

\begin{tabularx}{\linewidth}{@{}>{$}r<{$}@{\kern2.8pt}X@{}}
TA_{it} = & total accruals (net income from continuing operations ($IB$), minus operating cash flow\dots\\
A_{it-1}= & total assets for company $i$ at the end of year $t-1$,
\end{tabularx}

\end{document}