Deficit Reduction Through Diversity: How Affirmative Action at the FCC Increased Auction Competition

In recent auctions for paging licenses, the Federal Communications Commission has granted businesses owned by minorities and women substantial bidding credits. In this article, Professors Ayres and Cramton analyze a particular auction and argue that the affirmative action bidding preferences, by increasing competition among auction participants, increased the government's revenue by $45 million. Subsidizing the participation of new bidders can induce established bidders to bid more aggressively. The authors conclude that this revenue- enhancing effect does not provide a sufficient constitutional justification for affirmative action-but when such justification is independently present, affirmative actions can cost the government much less than is currently thought.Auctions; Affirmative Action

One-way Unlocalizable Information Deficit

We introduce one-way unlocalizable information deficit with respect to the one-way information deficit, similar to the definition of one-way unlocalizable quantum discord with respect to one-way quantum discord. The properties of the one-way unlocalizable information deficit and the relations among one-way unlocalizable information deficit, one-way unlocalizable quantum discord, one-way quantum discord, one-way information deficit and other quantum correlations are investigated. Analytical formulas of the one-way unlocalizable quantum discord are given to detailed examples.Comment: 8 page

Theories of developmental dyslexia: Insights from a multiple case study of dyslexic adults

A multiple case study was conducted in order to assess three leading theories of developmental dyslexia: the phonological, the magnocellular (auditory and visual) and the cerebellar theories. Sixteen dyslexic and 16 control university students were administered a full battery of psychometric, phonological, auditory, visual and cerebellar tests. Individual data reveal that all 16 dyslexics suffer from a phonological deficit, 10 from an auditory deficit, 4 from a motor deficit, and 2 from a visual magnocellular deficit. Results suggest that a phonological deficit can appear in the absence of any other sensory or motor disorder, and is sufficient to cause a literacy impairment, as demonstrated by 5 of the dyslexics. Auditory disorders, when present, aggravate the phonological deficit, hence the literacy impairment. However, auditory deficits cannot be characterised simply as rapid auditory processing problems, as would be predicted by the magnocellular theory. Nor are they restricted to speech. Contrary to the cerebellar theory, we find little support for the notion that motor impairments, when found, have a cerebellar origin, or reflect an automaticity deficit. Overall, the present data support the phonological theory of dyslexia, while acknowledging the presence of additional sensory and motor disorders in certain individuals

Short-Run Economic Impacts of Alaska Fiscal Options

Today Alaskans are talking about how to close the huge budget deficit the state government is facing, with the oil revenues it has depended on for decades now a small fraction of what they once were. Alaska has had budget deficits for several years, and it has made budget cuts—but it has mainly relied on billions of dollars in savings from the Constitutional Budget Reserve and other funds to cover the deficit. Those savings are dwindling, and the state needs to take measures to close the deficit. An important consideration is how various ways of reducing the deficit might affect Alaska’s economy. This study compares potential short-run economic effects of 11 options the state might take in the next few years to reduce the deficit and that are sustainable over the long term. We looked at economic effects of several types of spending cuts and taxes, as well as reducing the Permanent Fund dividend— the annual cash payment the state makes to all residents—and saving less of Permanent Fund earnings. We’re not advocating or opposing any option: our purpose is to estimate and compare the magnitude of the short-run economic effects of different ways of reducing the deficit. Broadly speaking: • Different ways of collecting money from Alaskans affect those with lower and higher incomes in significantly different ways. • Anything the state does to reduce the deficit will cost the economy jobs and money. But spending some of the Permanent Fund earnings the state currently saves would not have short-run economic effects. Saving less would, however, slow Permanent Fund growth and reduce future earnings. • Because the deficit is so big, the overall economic effects of closing the deficit will also be big.Executive Summary / Table of Contents / Introduction / Revenue Impacts of Taxes and Dividend Cuts / Short-Run Economic Impacts of Fiscal Options / Regional Differences in Impacts of Fiscal Options / Total Economic Impact of Reducing the Deficit / Other Economic Impacts of Fiscal Options / Estimation of Revenue Impacts of Fiscal Options /Expenditure Equations Estimated From the Consumer Expenditure Survey / IMPLAN Model / Estimation of Short-Run Economic Impact

One-Way Deficit of Two Qubit X States

Quantum deficit originates in questions regarding work extraction from quantum systems coupled to a heat bath [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 180402 (2002)]. It links quantum correlations with quantum thermodynamics and provides a new standpoint for understanding quantum non-locality. In this paper, we propose a new method to evaluate the one-way deficit for a class of two-qubit states. The dynamic behavior of the one-way deficit under decoherence channel is investigated and it is shown that the one-way deficit of the X states with five parameters is more robust against the decoherence than the entanglement.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure

Committees Tackle the Deficit

Summarizes the recommendations of a presidential commission and private bipartisan committee for reducing the federal deficit by cutting healthcare costs, Social Security outlays, and discretionary spending, and by raising taxes