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Essays in empirical microeconomics
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Kong, Xichen. Essays in empirical microeconomics. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-ymkn-nk28

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TitleEssays in empirical microeconomics
NameKong, Xichen (author); Agan, Amanda (chair); Klein, Roger (member); Wu, Bingxiao (member); Street, Brittany (member); Rutgers University; School of Graduate Studies
Date Created2024
Other Date2024-05 (degree)
SubjectEconomics, Microeconomics
Extent105 pages : illustrations
DescriptionIn my dissertation, I use tools in empirical microeconomics to study topics broadly related to public economics. In Chapter 1, I study the impact of recreational marijuana dispensaries on local crime in Chicago. The legalization of recreational marijuana dispensaries in many U.S. states has prompted debates about their potential social consequences. This paper examines the impact of recreational marijuana dispensaries on local crime in Chicago, Illinois. Utilizing the lottery-based issuance of dispensary licenses, I employ Difference-in-Difference estimators that account for heterogeneous treatment effects with differential timing. I show that the opening of a recreational marijuana dispensary in Chicago led to about a 30\% increase in crime within a 500-meter radius of the dispensary. This effect persists over time and is primarily associated with property crime and violent crime. Moreover, evidence suggests that this crime increase is driven by the relocation of crime from more distant areas to those in closer proximity to ds. I also identify heterogeneous effects across different demographic and socio-economic factors. Finally, I present evidence that census tracts may not be suitable units for analyzing the effects of ds, highlighting the importance of geographical granularity in such studies. Overall, this research reconciles conflicting findings in the existing literature by illustrating that the impact of ds on local crime is context-dependent.
In Chapter 2, I study the effects of dowries on female intra-household bargaining power and female welfare. I also study the effects of dowries on children human capital accumulation. I use a Chinese longitudinal dataset CFPS. To address endogeneity issues, I use an instrument that measures local dowry spending with respect to average household income. I find evidence that higher dowries lead to higher female household bargaining power and therefore better children education outcome. I find no evidence that higher dowries increase female mental and physical welling or children health.
In Chapter 3, I study the impact of the Paycheck Protection Program on employment in publicly traded companies. The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption of the U.S. labor markets, with rapid, record-setting increases in unemployment. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was enacted as a response to counter the havoc. To date, over 800 billion dollars have been issued as low interest rate loans to small businesses and the majority of it has been forgiven. This paper tries to understand whether this enormous spending has achieved its goals of maintaining employment and whether it provide a good model for future policy responses to crisis. Linking compustat data on publicly traded firms with PPP loan data from Small Business Administration, I estimate an OLS model and a TWFE model. In both specifications I find no significant effect of PPP loans on employment, consistent with some previous literature.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-ymkn-nk28
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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