Causal inference methods are widely used in empirical research; however, there is a paucity of evidence on the properties of shared latent factor estimators in the presence of contaminated instrumental variable (IV) when a strong IV may not be available. We present a theoretical formulation to...

We study the effects of cigarette excise taxes on smokers' household budgets. In a randomized survey experiment, smokers respond to tax increases by adjusting cigarette shopping behaviors, substituting towards other tobacco products, and reducing both discretionary and human capital-related...

We assess how minimum wage effects on restaurant employment in the U.S. vary with labor market size and monopsony power. Using city-level data, we construct monopsony proxies based on labor flows and concentration. Minimum wages bind less in larger cities, consistent with the urban wage premium,...

We examine class disparities and discrimination in police searches and stops using data on traffic stops conducted by Texas Highway Patrol. Low-income motorists are more likely to be searched for contraband, less likely to be found with contraband when searched, and more likely to be stopped for...

Many behavioral responses to climate change are carbon-intensive, raising concerns that adaptation may cause additional warming. The sign and magnitude of this feedback depend on how increased emissions from cooling balance against reduced emissions from heating across space and time. We present...

We document that corporate directors' past experience with abnormally severe climatic natural disasters shape their prosocial preferences and influence firm climate policies. Using detailed data on director career histories and county-level natural disasters, we identify Directors with Abnormal...

I show that the nature of the energy resources available to an economy qualitatively determines long-run growth outcomes. A harvested resource such as biomass drags on growth, a mined resource such as coal enables output per capita to hold constant, and both a tapped resource such as oil and a...

Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in text generation, but their performance may be influenced by the datasets on which they are trained, including potentially unauthorized or pirated content. We investigate the extent to which data access through pirated...

We present a theory of decisions in which attention to the features of choice options is determined by the decision maker's categorization of the current choice problem in a set of problems she solved in the past. Categorization depends on goal-relevant as well as contextual problem-level...

We argue that firms' assets, especially their tangible assets, serve as collateral restricting both secured and unsecured debt. Secured debt is explicitly collateralized, placing a lien on specific assets, which facilitates enforcement. Unsecured debt is backed by unencumbered assets and thus...