Most students attending colleges and universities, in the U.S. and the rest of the world, attend public institutions. This is a bit of a puzzle for economists, as it is clear that higher education provides private benefits to those who acquire it. This paper evaluates a number of arguments for...

This report attempts to replicate the estimated impacts from experimental studies of two different education interventions using a regression discontinuity design. In each case, the estimated impact of the intervention based on the regression discontinuity design was not significantly different...

If time and effort are required to accurately ascertain the lifetime value of energy efficiency for a durable good, consumers might rationally ignore energy efficiency. This paper argues that such inattention may be rational in the market for automobiles and home appliances. To do so, it...

Economic theory predicts that efficiency-enhancing policy changes can be made to benefit everyone through the use of lump-sum transfers that compensate anyone initially harmed by the change. Precise targeting of compensating transfers, however, may not be possible when agents are heterogeneous...

Criticizes empirical research that measures the effectiveness of state and local development and tax policy in terms of employment, business starts, and new branches. Argues that changes in the level and distribution of economic welfare are a better measurement.

Deploying faculty efficiently (or more efficiently) should surely part of any optimizing strategy on the part of a college or university. Basic microeconomics about the "theory of the firm" provide some insight as to how a university would achieve productive efficiency given differences in the...

What is a feasible and efficient policy to regulate air pollution from vehicles? A Pigouvian tax is technologically infeasible. Most countries instead rely on exhaust standards that limit air pollution emissions per mile for new vehicles. We assess the effectiveness and efficiency of these...

The first chapter of this dissertation examines the incidence of tax credits for hybrid vehicles in the United States. A variety of state and federal tax incentives have been used to subsidize gas-electric hybrid vehicles. I estimate the incidence of these tax incentives using microdata on sales...