Empirical models of trade agreements implicitly assume that withdrawal from a trade agreement has an equal and opposite trade effect as accession, i.e., symmetry. With increasing opposition to international economic cooperation, it becomes urgent to test this assumption. We analyze a...

We leverage decades of administrative data and quasi-experimental variation in the introduction of universal long-term care (LTC) insurance in Germany in 1995 to examine whether health insurance expansions can stimulate local economies. We find that the LTC insurance rollout led not only to...

This paper presents a dynamic general equilibrium model designed to examine the macroeconomic effects and welfare implications of alternative reforms to the US health insurance system. Specifically, it scrutinizes the extent to which health care reform can mitigate inefficiencies stemming from...

We study the interaction between unemployment insurance (UI) and other social transfers exploiting state-level changes to UI generosity and data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (1990-2013). We find that more generous UI leads to a reduction in the receipt of other public...

The COVID-19 pandemic increased public debt and changed the income distribution in many countries. We use a numerical simulation approach to derive optimal nonlinear marginal tax rates for the pre-crisis and crisis periods. We contribute to the literature by examining optimal tax rates...

We leverage decades of administrative data and quasi-experimental variation in the introduction of universal long-term care (LTC) insurance in Germany in 1995 to examine whether health insurance expansions can stimulate local economies. We find that the LTC insurance rollout led not only to...

Empirical models of trade agreements implicitly assume that withdrawal from a trade agreement has an equal and opposite trade effect as accession, i.e., symmetry. With increasing opposition to international economic cooperation, it becomes urgent to test this assumption. We analyze a...

This paper extends the sufficient statistics approach to study international tax policy. International policy differs from domestic policies because i.) from the perspective of domestic policy makers the welfare weight on foreign agents lies below that of domestic agents, and ii.) behavioral...

Following the gains from variety literature, this paper estimates the welfare impact of growth of the variety of imported goods in 28 countries in East Africa and East Asia and compares the results. While estimating the gains from variety, the elasticities of substitution are estimated for each...

This paper analyzes the welfare effects of private and unilateral disclosure of sensitive information in a sequential bargaining context. We consider a model where two sellers each propose a take-it-or-leave-it price for a homogeneous good to a single buyer. The buyer accepts or rejects the...

By utilizing panel statistics of 1520 country pairs and economic integration agreements (EIAs) from 2007 to 2017, this paper presents evidence of the effect of EIAs on export margins, i.e., both extensive (firms) and intensive margins (average exports per firm). In doing so, this work adds...

We examine the welfare effects of removing explicit and implicit fossil fuel subsidies, the latter entailing Pigouvian pricing of local externalities from fossil energy consumption. We map a multi-region, multi-sector general equilibrium model to granular data on subsidies, local marginal...

How individuals allocate resources across social groups depends on economic conditions. While prior research has documented strong in-group favoritism in domains reflecting favorable economic conditions, it remains unclear how this tendency shifts in domains that reflect economic downturns. We...

This paper employs a computational general equilibrium model to examine the potential impact of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The paper considers the impact of extending CBAM to other economies, examining whether approaches that require increased coordination of...

We analyze the equilibrium effects of different subsidies on target goods under both perfectly competitive and monopolistic market structures. We concentrate our analysis on three particularly common forms of subsidies: (i) a per-unit subsidy, (ii) an ad valorem subsidy, and (iii) an "inversely...

The Lao economy faces increased challenges from currency depreciation and high inflation. Economic recovery from COVID-19 has been gradual, undermined by macroeconomic instability and external factors. The combination of the need to service large external debts, high import prices, and limited...

This paper analyses the impact of carbon pricing on residential heating affordability using a theoretical household model with endogenous choice of a renewable heating technology. We compare two compensation policies: a renewable heating subsidy and a lump-sum transfer. The subsidy is the most...

This paper examines welfare disparities between in-camp refugees and host com- munities in Ethiopia, using data from the 2023 Socio-Economic Survey of Refugees in Ethiopia. The analysis reveals significant welfare gaps between in-camp refugees and hosts even after accounting for various other...

We develop and test a theory of efficient international trade. Efficiency gains arise through lower trade costs faced by 'trade specialists', whose superiority over 'common traders' manifests itself through lower trade costs. To test our theory, we construct and deploy a novel dataset based on...

We study the aggregate implications of production network formation in a quantitative multi-location general equilibrium trade model. Firms search for suppliers and buyers across locations subject to matching frictions, generating a gravity structure of production networks. We develop sufficient...

One challenge presented by population aging is how to adjust public support for social care in a way that achieves desired quality of life outcomes without compromising budget sustainability. This study uses best-practice methods of economic analysis to explore projections for care and related...

Agricultural production in Kenya is predominantly rain-fed and highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is thus being promoted with the aim of increasing agricultural productivity, adapting to the changing climate, and reducing greenhouse gas...

A common approach to markets with adverse selection is to regulate competition to minimize inefficiencies, while preserving consumer choice among firms. We study the role of procurement auctions - leading to sole provision by the winning firm - as an alternative market design. Relative to...