Higher Algebraic <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis>-theory of Ring Epimorphisms

Given a homological ring epimorphism from a ring R to another ring S, we show that if the left R-module S has a finite-type resolution, then the algebraic K-group K _n (R) of R splits as the direct sum of the algebraic K-group K _n (S) of S and the algebraic K-group K _n (R) of a Waldhausen category R determined by the ring epimorphism. This result is then applied to endomorphism rings, matrix subrings, rings with idempotent ideals, and universal localizations which appear often in representation theory and algebraic topology.