Generalization of the concepts of seniority number and ionicity

We present generalized versions of the concepts of seniority number and ionicity. These generalized numbers count respectively the partially occupied and fully occupied shells for any partition of the orbital space into shells. The Hermitian operators whose eigenspaces correspond to wave functions of definite generalized seniority or ionicity values are introduced. The generalized seniority numbers (GSNs) afford to establish refined hierarchies of configuration interaction (CI) spaces within those of fixed ordinary seniority. Such a hierarchy is illustrated on the buckminsterfullerene molecule

Garbled Elections

Majority rules are frequently used to decide whether or not a public good should be provided, but will typically fail to achieve an efficient provision. We provide a worst-case analysis of the majority rule with an optimally chosen majority threshold, assuming that voters have independent private valuations and are exante symmetric (provision cost shares are included in the valuations). We show that if the population is large it can happen that the optimal majority rule is essentially no better than a random provision of the public good. But the optimal majority rule is worst-case asymptotically efficient in the large-population limit if (i) the voters’ expected valuation is bounded away from 0, and (ii) an absolute bound for valuations is known

Monetary transmission: empirical evidence from Luxembourg firm-level data

This paper investigates the transmission of monetary policy in Luxembourg. It is the first empirical analysis conducted for Luxembourg firm-level data. The results indicate that the sales accelerator may be at work. A very robust result is the negative effect of the user cost of capital on firms' investment ratio. Changes in user cost are significantly affected by changes in the monetary policy indicator. In addition, firm specific balance sheet characteristics, such as the lagged cash stock to capital ratio influence the investment behaviour according to the broad credit channel theory. It is shown that young firms, in particular, are more sensitive to user cost changes, sales growth and the lagged cash to capital ratio.Investment, User Cost of Capital, Credit Channel, Panel Data