Evaluations of annular Khovanov--Rozansky homology

We describe the universal target of annular Khovanov-Rozansky link homology functors as the homotopy category of a free symmetric monoidal category generated by one object and one endomorphism. This categorifies the ring of symmetric functions and admits categorical analogues of plethystic transformations, which we use to characterize the annular invariants of Coxeter braids. Further, we prove the existence of symmetric group actions on the Khovanov-Rozansky invariants of cabled tangles and we introduce spectral sequences that aid in computing the homologies of generalized Hopf links. Finally, we conjecture a characterization of the horizontal traces of Rouquier complexes of Coxeter braids in other types.Comment: 41 page

Expanding Impact through Evaluation: Insights from the Packard Foundation's Work on Children's Health Insurance

This report explores the Packard Foundation's experience with program evaluation as a strategic intervention in its work on children's health insurance and presents some of the principal lessons learned from that experience. The report also highlights the value of being opportunistic and adaptive to changing circumstances. The Packard Foundation experience suggests that to have a major impact on the issues that it cares about, a foundation has to be on the lookout for windows of opportunity to advance its agenda, and must be highly strategic in leveraging those opportunities if and when they occur

How did the 2003 dividend tax cut affect stock prices?

We test the hypothesis that the 2003 dividend tax cut boosted U.S. stock prices and thus lowered the cost of equity. Using an event- study methodology, we attempt to identify an aggregate stock market effect by comparing the behavior of U.S. common stock prices to that of European stocks and real estate investment trusts. We also examine the relative cross-sectional response of prices on high-dividend versus low-dividend paying stocks. We do not find any imprint of the dividend tax cut news on the value of the aggregate U.S. stock market. On the other hand, high-dividend stocks outperformed low-dividend stocks by a few percentage points over the event windows, suggesting that the tax cut did induce asset reallocation within equity portfolios. Finally, the positive abnormal returns on non-dividend paying U.S. stocks in 2003 do not appear to be tied to tax-cut news.Taxation ; Stock - Prices