Uncertainty and the Theory of Tax Incidence in a Stock Market Economy

[Introduction] Commencing with Harberger's (1962) classic paper, a number of studies have analyzed the incidence of taxation in the context of a deterministic, two-sector, two-factor general equilibrium model. Recently, R. N. Batra (1975) and R. A. Ratti and P. Shame (1977a, 1977b) have reexamined the robustness of these deterministic results for the case in which production uncertainty is incorporated into the model. By using "entrepreneurial" models in which the firm is assumed to maximize the expected utility of profits, they find that the incidence of taxes depends on the preferences and probability assessments of the entrepreneur, and in general, the deterministic results no longer obtain

Models of the firm and international trade under uncertainty

One of the significant advances in economic theory has been the incorporation of uncertainty into the models used to investigate economic behavior. The explicit treatment of uncertainty has permitted economists to predict the behavior of economic agents operating in an uncertain environment and to explain, for example, the existence of insurance, stock markets, and forward exchange markets that have no necessary role in a deterministic world. One natural application of the economics of uncertainty has been to the study of international trade and exchange in which uncertainty regarding exchange rates and relative prices is a prominent feature of the environment of economic agents. The purpose of this paper is to frame the international trade results developed in the recent works of Wolfgang Mayer and Raveendra Batra in light of the current state of the theory of the firm under uncertainty. Before analyzing the effect of uncertainty on international trade, a perspective on the application of the economics of uncertainty to neoclassical theory will be presented with an emphasis on the theory of the firm

Spectral Consequences of Deviation from Spherical Composition Symmetry in Type Ia Supernovae

We investigate the prospects for constraining the maximum scale of clumping in composition that is consistent with observed Type Ia supernova flux spectra. Synthetic spectra generated without purely spherical composition symmetry indicate that gross asymmetries make prominent changes to absorption features. Motivated by this, we consider the case of a single unblended line forming in an atmosphere with perturbations of different scales and spatial distributions. Perturbations of about 1% of the area of the photodisk simply weaken the absorption feature by the same amount independent of the line of sight. Conversely, perturbations of about 10% of the area of the photodisk introduce variation in the absorption depth which does depend on the line of sight. Thus, 1% photodisk area perturbations may be consistent with observed profile homogeneity but 10% photodisk area perturbations can not. Based on this, we suggest that the absence of significant variation in the depths of Si II 6355 absorption features in normal Type Ia spectra near maximum light indicates that any composition perturbations in these events are quite small. This also constrains future three-dimensional explosion models to produce ejecta profiles with only small scale inhomogeneities.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

A dynamic theory of parliamentary democracy

This paper presents a dynamic model of election, government formation, and legislation in a parliamentary democracy with proportional representation in which the policy chosen in one period becomes the status quo for the next period. The electorate votes strategically by taking into account the likely governments that parties would form and the policies they would choose as a function of the status quo. The status quo thus affects both the election outcomes and the bargaining power of the parties during government formation. A formateur party thus has incentives to strategically position the current policy to gain an advantage in both the next election and the subsequent bargaining over government formation and policy choice. These incentives can give rise to centrifugal forces that result in policies that are outside the Pareto set of the parties

Evidence for a Spectroscopic Sequence Among SNe Ia

In this Letter we present evidence for a spectral sequence among Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). The sequence is based on the systematic variation of several features seen in the near-maximum light spectrum. This sequence is analogous to the recently noted photometric sequence among SNe Ia which shows a relationship between the peak brightness of a SN Ia and the shape of its light curve. In addition to the observational evidence we present a partial theoretical explanation for the sequence. This has been achieved by producing a series of non-LTE synthetic spectra in which only the effective temperature is varied. The synthetic sequence nicely reproduces most of the differences seen in the observed one and presumably corresponds to the amount of 56Ni produced in the explosion.Comment: To appear in Astrophysical Journal Letters, uuencoded, gzipped postscript file, also available from http://www.nhn.uoknor.edu/~baron

On the High--Velocity Ejecta of the Type Ia Supernova 1994D

Synthetic spectra generated with the parameterized supernova synthetic-spectrum code SYNOW are compared to spectra of the Type Ia SN 1994D that were obtained before the time of maximum brightness. Evidence is found for the presence of two-component Fe II and Ca II features, forming in high velocity ($\ge 20,000$ \kms) and lower velocity ($\le 16,000$ \kms) matter. Possible interpretations of these spectral splits, and implications for using early--time spectra of SNe Ia to probe the metallicity of the progenitor white dwarf and the nature of the nuclear burning front in the outer layers of the explosion, are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, Astrophysical Journal, in pres

Multi-layered Spectral Formation in SNe Ia Around Maximum Light

We use the radiative transfer code PHOENIX to study the line formation of the wavelength region 5000-7000 Angstroms. This is the region where the SNe Ia defining Si II feature occurs. This region is important since the ratio of the two nearby silicon lines has been shown to correlate with the absolute blue magnitude. We use a grid of LTE synthetic spectral models to investigate the formation of line features in the spectra of SNe Ia. By isolating the main contributors to the spectral formation we show that the ions that drive the spectral ratio are Fe III, Fe II, Si II, and S II. While the first two strongly dominate the flux transfer, the latter two form in the same physical region inside of the supernova. We also show that the naive blackbody that one would derive from a fit to the observed spectrum is far different than the true underlying continuum.Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures, ApJ (2008) 684 in pres

Reading the Spectra of the Most Peculiar Type Ia Supernova 2002cx

In spite of the apparent lack of Si II and S II features in its spectra, SN 2002cx was classified as a peculiar Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) on the basis of its overall photometric and spectroscopic behavior. Spectra obtained near maximum light contained Fe III features, as in SN 1991T-like events, but the blueshifts of the Fe III absorptions were exceptionally low. The luminosity also was low. We use the supernova synthetic--spectrum code SYNOW to study line identifications in SN 2002cx. We find that the maximum-light spectra appear to contain weak features of Si II, S II, Si III, and Ca II, which strengthens the connection with SN 1991T-like events. We show that later spectra, obtained 12, 25, and 56 days after maximum, consist of P-Cygni resonance-scattering features due to permitted Fe II and Co II lines. SN 2002cx had been thought to have made the transition from a permitted-line to a forbidden-line spectrum between 25 and 56 days. Owing to the low expansion velocities the postmaximum spectral features are narrower and easier to identify than they are in other SNe Ia. SN 2002cx will lead to improved line identifications in other SNe Ia and clarify when the transition from a permitted-line to a forbidden-line spectrum occurs. In the context of current SN Ia explosion models, we suggest that the properties of SN 2002cx may be consistent with 3D deflagration models, which are not favored for normal SNe Ia.Comment: 21 pages including 7 figures and 4 tables; accepted by PAS