Economic policy uncertainty and small business expansion

Is uncertainty causing small business owners to behave in ways that are hindering the recovery? That question is at the center of an intense public debate. Though reasonable arguments have been presented on both sides, there is not much empirical evidence to draw on. To contribute some to the discussion, we investigated the statistical association between data on small business plans to hire and make capital expenditures and a measure of policy uncertainty. Our analysis suggests that uncertainty is adversely affecting small business owners’ expansion plans.Small business ; Economic conditions - United States

The effect of falling home prices on small business borrowing

Small businesses continue to report problems in obtaining the financing they need. Because small business owners may rely heavily on the value of their homes to finance their businesses (through mortgages or home equity lines), the fall in housing prices might be one of the causes of their difficulty. We analyze information from a variety of sources and find that homes do constitute an important source of capital for small business owners and that the impact of the recent decline in housing prices is significant enough to be a real constraint on small business finances.Housing - Prices ; Small business - Finance

State growth empirics: the long-run determinants of state income growth

Real average U.S. per capita personal income growth over the last 65 years exceeded a remarkable 400 percent. Also notable over this period is that the stark income differences across states have narrowed considerably: In 1939 the highest income state’s per capita personal income was 4.5 times the lowest, but by 1976 this ratio had fallen to less than 2 times. Since 1976, the standard deviation of per capita incomes at the state level has actually risen, as some higher-income states have seen their income levels rise relative to the median of the states. A better understanding of the sources of these relative growth performances should help to characterize more effective economic development strategies, if income growth differences are predictable. In this paper, we look for statistically and economically significant growth factors by estimating an augmented growth model using a panel of the 48 contiguous states from 1939 to 2004. Specifically, we control for factors that previous researchers have argued were important: tax burdens, public infrastructure, size of private financial markets, rates of business failure, industry structure, climate, and knowledge stocks. Our results, which are robust to a wide variety of perturbations to the model, are easily summarized: A state’s knowledge stocks (as measured by its stock of patents and its high school and college attainment rates) are the main factors explaining a state’s relative per capita personal income.Economic development ; Income ; Education - Economic aspects

Experimental validation of phase space conduits of transition between potential wells

A phase space boundary between transition and non-transition, similar to those observed in chemical reaction dynamics, is shown experimentally in a macroscopic system. We present a validation of the phase space flux across rank one saddles connecting adjacent potential wells and confirm the underlying phase space conduits that mediate the transition. Experimental regions of transition are found to agree with the theory to within 1\%, suggesting the robustness of phase space conduits of transition in a broad array of two or more degree of freedom experimental systems, despite the presence of small dissipation.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Alternatives to Diameter-Limit Timber Harvesting on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation: A Case Study

I undertook a case study concerning forest management on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation to assess the effects of diameter-limit cutting practices that are conducted there. Analysis of continuous forest inventory (CFI) data supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) indicated that the largest forest cover type was being replaced by more shade-tolerant species, primarily red maple. My study objective was to explore and recommend alternative silvicultural systems other than diameter-limit cutting. Solutions were sought that were consistent with the forest cover types present on the Reservation and the Tribe\u27s goals and objectives. I reviewed the silviculture of the primary forest cover types of the Reservation, multiple silvicultural systems, habitat requirements of selected wildlife species, and information concerning threatened and endangered species possibly present on the Reservation. Multiple silvicultural systems were recommended for use within eight forest cover types based on their silvicultural characteristics. Both even-aged and uneven-aged systems were included in these recommendations, including single tree selection, group selection, shelterwood, clearcut, two-aged, deferment, and variable diameter-limit. These recommendations satisfied BIA\u27s policy of flexibility concerning the application of silvicultural systems. The ultimate conclusions drawn from this study were that the continued use of diameter-limit cutting would make it difficult for the Tribe to meet many of the goals it has set for itself and that the biological, aesthetic, and financial concerns of the Tribe can be met using silvicultural systems other than diameter-limit cutting

Tsirelson's bound and Landauer's principle in a single-system game

We introduce a simple single-system game inspired by the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) game. For qubit systems subjected to unitary gates and projective measurements, we prove that any strategy in our game can be mapped to a strategy in the CHSH game, which implies that Tsirelson's bound also holds in our setting. More generally, we show that the optimal success probability depends on the reversible or irreversible character of the gates, the quantum or classical nature of the system and the system dimension. We analyse the bounds obtained in light of Landauer's principle, showing the entropic costs of the erasure associated with the game. This shows a connection between the reversibility in fundamental operations embodied by Landauer's principle and Tsirelson's bound, that arises from the restricted physics of a unitarily-evolving single-qubit system.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, typos correcte

Mutts: A Collection of Short Fiction

This thesis begins with a critical introduction about narrative closure, as opposed to traditional narrative resolution, in fiction. I cite the work of John Gardner, T.S. Eliot, Milan Kundera, and Charles Baxter to explore the functions of motif, objective correlative, and symmetrical composition, focusing on how these three ideas inform effective characterization. I argue that narrative closure achieves equally if not more satisfying endings by prioritizing characterization above all other aspects of plot. After the critical introduction, you will find works of short fiction and flash fiction. A common theme among the longer, more traditional stories is the process through which narrators make sense of bizarre, traumatic, or potentially unbelievable events. The flash fiction pieces put readers directly into unfamiliar environments, which are rendered as such through either nuanced narration styles or deliberately unrealistic settings