Following the Money 2011: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data

Grades states' progress in launching or enhancing transparency 2.0 Web sites that provide comprehensive, one-stop access to searchable and downloadable databases of government spending. Outlines benefits such as savings, challenges, and recommendations

Splitting Behavior of SnS_n-Polynomials

We analyze the probability that, for a fixed finite set of primes S, a random, monic, degree n polynomial f(x) with integer coefficients in a box of side B around 0 satisfies: (i) f(x) is irreducible over the rationals, with splitting field over the rationals having Galois group $S_n$; (ii) the polynomial discriminant Disc(f) is relatively prime to all primes in S; (iii) f(x) has a prescribed splitting type at each prime p in S. The limit probabilities as $B \to \infty$ are described in terms of values of a one-parameter family of measures on $S_n$, called splitting measures, with parameter $z$ evaluated at the primes p in S. We study properties of these measures. We deduce that there exist degree n extensions of the rationals with Galois closure having Galois group $S_n$ with a given finite set of primes S having given Artin symbols, with some restrictions on allowed Artin symbols for p<n. We compare the distributions of these measures with distributions formulated by Bhargava for splitting probabilities for a fixed prime $p$ in such degree $n$ extensions ordered by size of discriminant, conditioned to be relatively prime to $p$.Comment: 33 pages, v2 34 pages, introduction revise

Detached from their homeland: the Latter-day Saints of Chihuahua, Mexico

Over the past few decades, the homeland concept has received an ever-increasing amount of attention by cultural geographers. While the debate surrounding the necessity and applicability of the concept continues, it is more than apparent that no other geographic term (including culture areas or culture regions) captures the essence of peoples’ attachment to place better than homeland. The literature, however, provides few examples of the deep-seated loyalty people have for a homeland despite being physically detached from that space. Employing land use mapping and informal interviews, this paper seeks to help fill that gap by exemplifying how the daily lives of Mormons living in Chihuahua, Mexico reflect their connection to the United States and the Mormon Homeland. Our research revealed that, among other things, the Anglo residents perpetuate their cultural identity through their unique self-reference, exhibit territoriality links reflected in their built environment, and demonstrate unconditional bonding to their homeland through certain holiday celebrations. It is clear to us, as the Anglo-Mormon experience illustrates, that the homeland concept deserves a place within the geographic lexicon

Religion, social movements, and zone of crisis in Latin America

This repository item contains a single issue of Issues in Brief, a series of policy briefs that began publishing in 2008 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.Based on the outcomes of a three-year project led by Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA), this Issues in Brief explores the connections between religion and social movements in Latin America, especially in areas where efforts have been made to expand citizens’ rights and institute reforms to improve social justice. The authors use examples presented by collaborating scholars at the project’s conferences to show how religion is, in fact, an intrinsic part of everyday life and has played an important role in both revolutions and evolutions toward democracy in the region. They argue that any assessment of where Latin America has been and where it is headed must understand and consider “the multiple roles played by religion as citizens fight for new rights and reshape democratic politics.

Rigid prices: evidence from U.S. scanner data

This paper uses over two years of weekly scanner data from two small US cities to characterize time and state dependence of grocers' pricing decisions. In these data, the probability of a nominal adjustment declines with the time since the last price change. This reflects differences over time in the flexibility of prices charged by a single store for a given good. We also detect state dependence: The probability of a nominal adjustment is highest when a store's price substantially differs from the average of other stores. However, extreme prices typically reflect the selling store's recent nominal adjustments rather than changes in other stores' prices.Prices

Tax Shell Game: How Much Did Offshore Tax Havens Cost You in 2010?

Provides an overview of corporations' and individuals' use of offshore tax havens and its impact on government revenue and services. Makes policy recommendations including tightening rules for U.S. multinational corporations and revising tax treaties