Fine-grained timing using genetic programming

In previous work, we have demonstrated that it is possible to use Genetic Programming to minimise the resource consumption of software, such as its power consumption or execution time. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which Genetic Programming can be used to gain fine-grained control over software timing. We introduce the ideas behind our work, and carry out experimentation to find that Genetic Programming is indeed able to produce software with unusual and desirable timing properties, where it is not obvious how a manual approach could replicate such results. In general, we discover that Genetic Programming is most effective in controlling statistical properties of software rather than precise control over its timing for individual inputs. This control may find useful application in cryptography and embedded systems

Simulating 0+1 Dimensional Quantum Gravity on Quantum Computers: Mini-Superspace Quantum Cosmology and the World Line Approach in Quantum Field Theory

Quantum computers are a promising candidate to radically expand computational science through increased computing power and more effective algorithms. In particular quantum computing could have a tremendous impact in the field of quantum cosmology. The goal of quantum cosmology is to describe the evolution of the Universe through the Wheeler-DeWitt equation or path integral methods without having to first formulate a full theory of quantum gravity. The quantum computer provides an advantage in this endeavor because it can perform path integrals in Lorentzian space and does not require constructing contour integrations in Euclidean gravity. Also quantum computers can provide advantages in systems with fermions which are difficult to analyze on classical computers. In this study, we first employed classical computational methods to analyze a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker mini-superspace with a scalar field and visualize the calculated wave function of the Universe for a variety of different values of the spatial curvature and cosmological constant. We them used IBM's Quantum Information Science Kit Python library and the variational quantum eigensolver to study the same systems on a quantum computer. The framework can also be extended to the world line approach to quantum field theory.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Tax compliance under tax regime changes

In this paper we focus on the compliance effects of tax regime changes. According to the economic model of tax evasion, a tax reform should affect compliance through its impact on tax rates and incentives. Our findings demonstrate the importance of at least two further effects not covered by the traditional model: First, reform losers tend to evade more taxes after the reform. Second, a reform from a proportionate to a progressive system decreases compliance compared to a switch in the reverse direction. However, the level of compliance is generally higher under a progressive than under a proportionate regime.tax reforms; tax compliance; experiment

Tax compliance under tax regime changes

In this paper we focus on the compliance effects of tax regime changes. According to the economic model of tax evasion, a tax reform should affect compliance through its impact on tax rates and incentives. Our findings demonstrate the importance of at least two further effects not covered by the traditional model: First, reform losers tend to evade more taxes after the reform. Second, a reform from a proportionate to a progressive system decreases compliance compared to a switch in the reverse direction. However, the level of compliance is generally higher under a progressive than under a proportionate regime. --tax reforms,tax compliance,experiment

An Experimental Test of Precautionary Bidding

Auctions often involve goods exhibiting a common knowledge ex-post risk that is independent of buyers’ private values or their signals regarding common value components. Esö and White (2004) showed theoretically that ex-post risk leads to precautionary bidding for DARA bidders: Agents reduce their bids by more than their appropriate risk premium. Testing precautionary bidding with data from the field seems almost impossible. We conduct experimental first-price auctions that allow us to directly identify the precautionary premium and find clear evidence for precautionary bidding. Bidders are significantly better off when a risky object rather than an equally valued sure object is auctioned. Our results are robust if we control for potentially confounding decision biases

Psychological pressure in competitive environments: Evidence from a randomized natural experiment: Comment

Apesteguia and Palacios-Huerta (forthcoming) report for a sample of 129 shootouts from various seasons in ten different competitions that teams kicking first in soccer penalty shootouts win significantly more often than teams kicking second. Collecting data for the entire history of six major soccer competitions we cannot replicate their result. Teams kicking first win only 53.4% of 262 shootouts in our data, which is not significantly different from random. Our findings have two implications: (1) Apesteguia and Palacios-Huerta’s results are not generally robust. (2) Using specific subsamples without a coherent criterion for data selection might lead to non-representative findings