Jason Cook, Francine D. Blau, Lawrence M. Kahn, Peter Brummund, and Miriam Larson-Koester, 2020. In this paper, we use 2008–2013 American Community Survey data to update and further probe evidence on son preference in the USA. In light of the substantial increase in immigration, we examine this question separately for natives and immigrants. [download pdf]
Jason Cook, Vladimir Kogan, Stéphane Lavertu, and Zachary Peskowitz, 2020. Governments around the world have privatized public services in the name of efficiency and citizen empowerment, but some argue that privatization could also affect citizen participation in democratic governance. We explore this possibility by estimating the impact of charter schools (which are publicly funded but privately [...]
In 2007, the Supreme Court declared race-conscious school admissions unconstitutional. This paper provides the first evaluation of a related federal mandate where a school district was forced to adopt a race-blind lottery system for its magnet schools. Lottery-estimated magnet school returns fall substantially under race-blind admissions. I explore a plausible mechanism: the dramatic increase [...]
Ravideep Sethi and Ewout Verriest, 2019. Considering an infinitely repeated legislative bargaining game with three players, the authors show that a sufficiently patient and powerful veto player (for example a monarch with a high recognition probability) may have an incentive to cede some of her agenda-setting power to her non-veto opponents (for example the bourgeoisie and [...]
Nathan Seegert, Laura Konda, and Elena Patel, 2019. In a study that documents the effect of the 2011 redesign of IRS Form 3800, the authors find that while the redesign was successful in increasing compliance after 2011, firms reported 23% more carry-forward general business credits in 2011. Ultimately, this cost the government between $1.4 and $1.8 billion [...]
Elena Patel, Jim Hines, Nathan Seegert, and Matthew Smith, 2019. Using new methods to study the universe of c-corporations in the U.S., the authors find evidence that corporations are much more sensitive to changes in corporate tax rates than previous estimates suggest. Specifically, they find that the elasticity of corporate taxable. [download pdf]
Nathat Seegert, David Albouy, Kristian Behrens, and Frédéric Robert-Nicoud, 2019. Using a spatial urban model to study optimal city size, the authors determine that in equilibrium the largest cities on the most amenable sites are underpopulated, whereas smaller cities on less amenable sites are overpopulated. [download pdf]
Adam Looney, 2019. The author examines a legislative effort to extend the temporary tax cuts on wine, beer, and liquor included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and argues that Congress should close a loophole in the draft legislation that would that increase the cost of the bill, benefit larger producers and foreign importers, [...]
Ravideep Sethi, 2020. Using a model that could apply to candidates seeking votes or to a product design team seeking to optimize sales, the author finds that the optimal policy platform or product design is one where the entrant differentiates just enough, so that the valence advantage of the incumbent is countered. [download pdf]
Ravideep Sethi, 2020. In a model that studies worker ability and conscientiousness (cost of effort) over time, the author shows that during the agent’s early career, effort is a higher component of output and. [download pdf]