Is Wealth Becoming More Polarized in the United States?

Recent work has documented a rising degree of wealth inequality in the United States between 1983 and 1998. In this paper we look at another dimension of the distribution: polarization. Using techniques developed by Esteban and Ray (1994) and extended by D'Ambrosia (2001), we examine whether a similar pattern exists with regard to trends in wealth polarization over this period. The approach followed provides a decomposition method, based on counterfactual distributions, that allows one to monitor which factors modified the entire distribution and precisely where on the distribution these factors had an effect. An index of polarization is provided, as are summary statistics of the observed movements and of distance and divergence among the estimated and the counterfactual distributions. The decomposition method is applied to U.S. data on the distribution of wealth between 1983 and 1998. We find that polarization between homeowners and tenants and among different educational groups continuously increased from 1983 to 1998, while polarization by income class continuously decreased. In contrast, polarization by racial group increased from 1983 to 1989 and then declined from 1989 to 1998, while polarization by age group followed the opposite pattern. We also find that most of the observed variation in the overall wealth density over the 1983–98 period can be attributed to changes in the within-group wealth densities rather than changes in household characteristics.

"Is Wealth Becoming More Polarized in the United States?"

Recent work has documented a rising degree of wealth inequality in the United States between 1983 and 1998. In this paper we look at another dimension of the distribution: polarization. Using techniques developed by Esteban and Ray (1994) and extended by D'Ambrosia (2001), we examine whether a similar pattern exists with regard to trends in wealth polarization over this period. The approach followed provides a decomposition method, based on counterfactual distributions, that allows one to monitor which factors modified the entire distribution and precisely where on the distribution these factors had an effect. An index of polarization is provided, as are summary statistics of the observed movements and of distance and divergence among the estimated and the counterfactual distributions. The decomposition method is applied to U.S. data on the distribution of wealth between 1983 and 1998. We find that polarization between homeowners and tenants and among different educational groups continuously increased from 1983 to 1998, while polarization by income class continuously decreased. In contrast, polarization by racial group increased from 1983 to 1989 and then declined from 1989 to 1998, while polarization by age group followed the opposite pattern. We also find that most of the observed variation in the overall wealth density over the 1983-98 period can be attributed to changes in the within-group wealth densities rather than changes in household characteristics.

Kaon decay interferometry as meson dynamics probes

We discuss the time dependent interferences between $K_L$ and $K_S$ in the decays in $3\pi$ and $\pi\pi\gamma$, to be studied at interferometry machines such as the $\phi$-factory and LEAR. We emphasize the possibilities and the advantages of using interferences, in comparison with width measurements, to obtain information both on $CP$ conserving and $CP$ violating amplitudes. Comparison with present data and suggestions for future experiments are made.Comment: 15 pages, in RevTex, Report INFNNA-IV-93-31, UTS-DFT-93-2

Is wealth becoming more polarized in the United States?

Recent work has documented a rising degree of wealth inequality in the United States between 1983 and 1998. In this paper, we look at another dimension of the distribution, polarization. Using techniques developed by Esteban and Ray (1994) and further extended by D'Ambrosio (2001), we examine whether a similar pattern exists with regard to trends in wealth polarization over this period. The approach here followed provides a decomposition method, based on counterfactual distributions, which allows one to monitor what factors modified the entire distribution and where precisely on the distribution these factors had an effect. An index of polarization is provided as well as summary statistics of the observed movements and of distance and divergence among the estimated and the counterfactual distributions. The decomposition method is applied to US data on the distribution of wealth between 1983 and 1998. We find that polarization between homeowners and tenants, as well as among different educational groups, continuously increased from 1983 to 1998, while polarization by income classes groups continuously decreased. In contrast, polarization by racial group first increased from 1983 to 1989 and then declined from 1989 to 1998, while polarization by age groups followed the opposite pattern. We also find that most of the observed variation in the overall wealth density over the 1983-98 period can be attributed to changes of the within-group wealth densities rather than to changes in household characteristics over the period

Strong rescattering in K-> 3pi decays and low-energy meson dynamics

We present a consistent analysis of final state interactions in ${K\rightarrow 3\pi}$ decays in the framework of Chiral Perturbation Theory. The result is that the kinematical dependence of the rescattering phases cannot be neglected. The possibility of extracting the phase shifts from future $K_S-K_L$ interference experiments is also analyzed.Comment: 14 pages in RevTex, 3 figures in postscrip

Photonic polarization gears for ultra-sensitive angular measurements

Quantum metrology bears a great promise in enhancing measurement precision, but is unlikely to become practical in the near future. Its concepts can nevertheless inspire classical or hybrid methods of immediate value. Here, we demonstrate NOON-like photonic states of m quanta of angular momentum up to m=100, in a setup that acts as a "photonic gear", converting, for each photon, a mechanical rotation of an angle {\theta} into an amplified rotation of the optical polarization by m{\theta}, corresponding to a "super-resolving" Malus' law. We show that this effect leads to single-photon angular measurements with the same precision of polarization-only quantum strategies with m photons, but robust to photon losses. Moreover, we combine the gear effect with the quantum enhancement due to entanglement, thus exploiting the advantages of both approaches. The high "gear ratio" m boosts the current state-of-the-art of optical non-contact angular measurements by almost two orders of magnitude.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, + supplementary information (10 pages, 3 figures

The TORCH PMT: a close packing, multi-anode, long life MCP-PMT for Cherenkov applications

Photek (U.K.) and the TORCH collaboration are undertaking a three year development program to produce a novel square MCP-PMT for single photon detection. The TORCH detector aims to provide particle identification in the 2–10 GeV/c momentum range, using a Time-of-Flight method based on Cherenkov light. It is a stand-alone R&D project with possible application in LHCb, and has been proposed for the LHCb Upgrade. The Microchannel Plate (MCP) detector will provide a single photon timing accuracy of 40 ps, and its development will include the following properties: (i) Long lifetime up to at least 5 C/cm2; (ii) Multi-anode output with a spatial resolution of 6 mm and 0.4 mm respectively in the horizontal and vertical directions, incorporating a novel charge-sharing technique; (iii) Close packing on two opposing sides with an active area fill factor of 88% in the horizontal direction. Results from simulations modelling the MCP detector performance factoring in the pulse height variation from the detector, NINO threshold levels and potential charge sharing techniques that enhance the position resolution beyond the physical pitch of the pixel layout will be discussed. Also, a novel method of coupling the MCP-PMT output pads using Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF) will be described. This minimises parasitic input capacitance by allowing very close proximity between the frontend electronics and the MCP detector

Self-selection effects in smokers attending lung cancer screening: a 9.5-year population-based cohort study in Varese, Italy.

BACKGROUND:: We hypothesize that mortality risk profile of participants and nonparticipants in nonrandomized lung cancer (LC) screening of smokers may be different. METHODS:: In 1997, a population-based cohort of 5815 smokers of Varese Province was invited to nonrandomized LC screening by annual chest x-ray examination for 4 years. LC risk factors and screening participation rate were recorded. Except for screening, the whole cohort received usual care. After 9.5-year observation, we compared mortality of participants versus nonparticipants by assessing age-standardized all-cause mortality rate ratio (MRR) and disease group-specific MRR with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS:: Self-selected screening participants were 21% of cohort. Participants were younger (p < 0.001), were more frequently current smokers (p = 0.019), had more pack-years of smoking (p < 0.0001), and had higher rate of LC family history (p < 0.0001) and of occupational LC risk (p < 0.0001) relative to nonparticipants. In logistic regression analysis familial LC, occupational risk and pack-years smoked were significant predictors of participation in screening and of developing LC. Participants displayed a healthy effect, as shown by all-cause MRR = 0.67 (95% CI, 0.53-0.84), all cancers except LC MRR = 0.61 (95% CI, 0.41-0.91), cardiovascular diseases MRR = 0.38 (95% CI, 0.22-0.63), and noncancer disease other than cardiovascular or respiratory MRR = 0.57 (95% CI, 0.34-0.92). The LC mortality (MRR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.03-1.91) was higher in participants relative to nonparticipants (p = 0.031). CONCLUSION:: The selection effect in LC screening participants was dual: healthy effect and higher LC mortality. In assessing the overall effectiveness of LC screening on a population level, a higher LC mortality risk in participants should be considered

Rare Kaon Decays

The current status of rare kaon decay experiments is reviewed. New limits in the search for Lepton Flavor Violation are discussed, as are new measurements of the CKM matrix.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, presented at the 3rd International Conference on B Phyiscs and CP Violation, Taipei December 3-7, 199

TeV Scale Left Right Symmetry and Flavor Changing Neutral Higgs Effects

In minimal left-right symmetric models, the mass of the neutral Higgs field mediating tree-level flavor changing effects (FCNH) is directly related to the parity breaking scale. Specifically, the lower bound on the Higgs mass coming from Higgs-induced tree-level effects, and exceeding about 15 TeV, would tend to imply a W_R mass bound much higher than that required by gauge exchange loop effects -- the latter allowing W_R masses as low as 2.5 TeV. Since a W_R mass below 4 TeV is accessible at the LHC, it is important to investigate ways to decouple the FCNH effects from the W_R mass. In this paper, we present a model where this happens, providing new motivation for LHC searches for W_R in the 1 - 4 TeV mass range.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure. v3: a typo and a bug in the constraint from D0-D0bar mixing fixed. Plots slightly changed, results and conclusions untouched. Matches journal versio