Euler characteristics of algebraic varieties

This note studies the behavior of Euler characteristics and of intersection homology Euler characteristics under proper morphisms of algebraic (respectively, analytic) varieties. The methods also yield, for algebraic (respectively, analytic) varieties, formulae comparing these two kinds of Euler characteristics. The main results are direct consequences of the calculus of constructible functions and Grothendieck groups of constructible sheaves. Similar formulae for Hodge-theoretic invariants of algebraic varieties under morphisms were announced by the first and third authors in [5, 14]. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.