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Dissertation
Essays on Applications of Causal Inference and Policy Analysis
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005530
Abstract
In the first chapter, I study the causal impact of short-term rental regulation in the City of Boston on housing prices. The average treatment effect on the treated is negative and significant. The estimated dose-response function shows that treatment effect is decreasing for lower levels of doses while increasing for higher levels of doses, the percentage of housing units that are restricted from short-term rental. The estimates for average treatment effect and average treatment effect on untreated are positive and larger in magnitude, however not statistically significant. The average treatment effect on the treated is negative and statistically significant showing about a 1.6% drop in housing prices when short-term rental restriction is increased by 1%. Results show that at the mean dose, house price declined by more than $16,500 for an average priced house in Boston.
In the second chapter, I estimate a causal relation between the COVID-19 induced demand shock in the restaurants sector and food insecurity. Comparing how intensity of food insecurity changes during the pandemic and how mobility around places of retail recreation alters, this study finds that a 1% increase in the percentage of mobility around retail recreation places reduces the probability of a household’s food security worsening by 0.05%.
In the third chapter, I analyze the strategic behavior in a regulated duopoly market which invests in research and development (R&D). The model allows for cost differences and information asymmetry. I find that the R&D levels chosen by firms depend on the firm's efficiency level as well as the nature of competition in the product market. The social planner's preferences for cooperation in the R&D market depend on the information available to the social planner, the nature of competition in the final goods market, and the firms' levels of efficiency.
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Details
- Title
- Essays on Applications of Causal Inference and Policy Analysis
- Creators
- Molla Mursaleen Shiraj
- Contributors
- Jill McCluskey (Advisor)Ron Mittelhammer (Advisor)Jia Yan (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Economic Sciences
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 180
- Identifiers
- 99901051540101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation