# Binomial coefficient difference

I have the following difference of binomial coefficients: $$f(m)={m+n\choose n}-{m-d+n\choose n}$$ I believe the following two things should hold true:

1. For $m$ large enough, $f(m)$ is a polynomial in $m$.
2. Its degree is $n-1$.

Just expanding the expression a little bit one finds $$f(m)=\frac{(m+n)(m+n-1)\cdots(m+1)-(m-d+n)(m-d+n-1)\cdots(m-d+1)}{n!}$$ and clearly the $n!$ term pops out of both products, so $f(m)$ is actually a polynomial with integer coefficients for $m>d-1$. Also it is evident that the term $m^n$ gets canceled. However I wonder if it is obvious that the coefficient of $m^{n-1}$ is not zero (i don't see it). Does anybody see a more elegant way to do all this?

• If $d=0$, then $f(m)=0$. – J.R. Jan 24 '14 at 18:28

Given any polynomial $g(x)$ of degree $n\ge1$ and any nonzero constant $d$, it's not hard to check that the expression $g(x) - g(x-d)$ is a polynomial of degree $n-1$. In fact, if the leading term of $g(x)$ is $ax^n$, then the leading term of $g(x)-g(x-d)$ is $adnx^{n-1}$. (This is one way in which this differencing operator acts like a discrete analogue of the derivative.)
In any case, your problem follows by setting $g(x) = \binom{x+n}n$.