5,611 research outputs found
Sparse sum-of-squares certificates on finite abelian groups
Let G be a finite abelian group. This paper is concerned with nonnegative
functions on G that are sparse with respect to the Fourier basis. We establish
combinatorial conditions on subsets S and T of Fourier basis elements under
which nonnegative functions with Fourier support S are sums of squares of
functions with Fourier support T. Our combinatorial condition involves
constructing a chordal cover of a graph related to G and S (the Cayley graph
Cay(,S)) with maximal cliques related to T. Our result relies on two
main ingredients: the decomposition of sparse positive semidefinite matrices
with a chordal sparsity pattern, as well as a simple but key observation
exploiting the structure of the Fourier basis elements of G.
We apply our general result to two examples. First, in the case where , by constructing a particular chordal cover of the half-cube
graph, we prove that any nonnegative quadratic form in n binary variables is a
sum of squares of functions of degree at most , establishing
a conjecture of Laurent. Second, we consider nonnegative functions of degree d
on (when d divides N). By constructing a particular chordal
cover of the d'th power of the N-cycle, we prove that any such function is a
sum of squares of functions with at most nonzero Fourier
coefficients. Dually this shows that a certain cyclic polytope in
with N vertices can be expressed as a projection of a section
of the cone of psd matrices of size . Putting gives a
family of polytopes with LP extension complexity
and SDP extension complexity
. To the best of our knowledge, this is the
first explicit family of polytopes in increasing dimensions where
.Comment: 34 page
Bidimensional Inequalities with an Ordinal Variable
We investigate the normative foundations of two empirically implementable dominance criteria for comparing distributions of two attributes, where the first one is cardinal while the second is ordinal. The criteria we consider are Atkinson and Bourguignon\'s (1982) first quasi-ordering and a generalization of Bourguignon\'s (1989) ordered poverty gap criterion. In each case we specify the restrictions to be placed on the individual utility functions, which guarantee that all utility-inequality averse welfarist ethical observers will rank the distributions under comparison in the same way as the dominance criterion. We also identify the elementary inequality reducing transformations successive applications of which permit to derive the dominating distribution from the dominated one.Normative Analysis, Utilitarianism, Welfarism, Bidimensional Stochastic Dominance, Inequality Reducing Transformations
Restrukturiranje sustava fiskalnog izravnanja u Hrvatskoj
The aim of this paper is to propose a model of fiscal equalization in Croatia. This
paper tests the hypothesis of a lack of effectiveness of the existing fiscal
equalization model compared to a model that would be based on alleviating the
difference in the potential to collect revenue from the personal income tax and
surtax. Fiscal inequalities of local government units are determined first under the
current equalization system by calculating the Gini coefficients and graphically
presented with Lorenz curves. Thereafter, a distribution of equalization grants is
simulated based on the new (proposed) model. The effectiveness of the proposed
model in alleviating the fiscal inequalities is determined in relation to the
effectiveness of the current equalization system. It was found that the model based
on equalizing the difference in the capacity to collect revenue from the personal
income tax and surtax alleviates inequalities in fiscal capacities of local
government units much better than the existing system at the same cost. The main
conclusion is that the fiscal equalization in Croatia should urgently be redesigned
in order to improve efficiency and fairness, but also the transparency and
credibility of the equalization system.Cilj rada je predložiti model fiskalnog izravnanja u Hrvatskoj. U radu se testira hipoteza o nedovoljnoj učinkovitosti postojećeg modela fiskalnog izravnanja u
odnosu na model koji bi se temeljio na ublažavanju razlika u potencijalu
prikupljanja prihoda od prireza i poreza na dohodak. Izračunom Ginijevih
koeficijenata najprije se utvrđuju nejednakosti u raspodjeli fiskalnih kapaciteta po
stanovniku jedinica lokalne samouprave u postojećem sustavu izravnanja koje se
prikazuju i grafički Lorenzovim krivuljama. Potom se provodi simulacija
raspodjele pomoći za fiskalno izravnanje na temelju novog (predloženog) modela
te se testira njegova učinkovitost u ublažavanju fiskalnih nejednakosti. Utvrđeno je
kako model utemeljen na ublažavanju razlika u kapacitetu prikupljanja prihoda od
prireza i poreza na dohodak u znatno većoj mjeri od postojećeg sustava ublažava
razlike u fiskalnim kapacitetima jedinica lokalne samouprave uz isti trošak.
Zaključak je da fiskalno izravnanje u Hrvatskoj hitno treba restrukturirati kako bi
se poboljšala učinkovitost i pravednost, ali i transparentnost i vjerodostojnost
sustava izravnanja
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