Medicare has recently experienced the largest expansion of benefits since its in- ception: the inclusion of prescription drug coverage under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. The policy debate has mainly focused on estimating the cost of implementing the...

We adapt the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm to incorporate unobserved hetero- geneity into conditional choice probability (CCP) estimators of dynamic discrete choice problems. The unobserved heterogeneity can be time-invariant, fully transitory, or follow a Markov chain. By exploiting...

The goal of this dissertation is to provide a coherent and computationally feasible basis for the analysis of the dynamics of both housing supply and demand from a microeconomics perspective. The dissertation includes two papers which incorporate unique micro data with new methodological...

In the first chapter of this dissertation, I outline a hedonic equilibrium model that explicitly controls for moving costs and forward-looking behavior. Hedonic equilibrium models allow researchers to recover willingness to pay for spatially delineated amenities by using the notion that...

This dissertation considers incentives arising from equilibrium influences that affect the sequence of decisions that lead to family formation. The first chapter examines how state regulations directly aimed at abortion providers affect the market for abortion in the United States. Estimates...

This paper analyzes a unique dataset of art auctions on eBay. We studythe behavior of buyers and sellers, demand and supply, by means of anovel structural estimation approach. Our empirical framework considersthe process of arrival of new bidders as well as the distribution ofbidder valuations...

Much of the extensive empirical literature on insurance markets hasfocused on whether adverse selection can be detected. Once detected, however, therehas been little attempt to quantify its welfare cost, or to assess whether and whatpotential government interventions may reduce these costs. To...

There are hundreds of thousands of crude oil and natural gas wells across North America that are currently not producing oil or gas. Many of these wells have not been permanently decommissioned to meet environmental standards for permanent closure, but are in an inactive state that enables them...

The dissertation is comprised of three papers. In the first two Chapters, I analyze the importance of competition, preference heterogeneity, and socio-economic/country-specific factors to explain the differences in penetration rates of mobile phone services across EUMember States. Chapter 1...

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. July 2010. Major: Economics. Advisors: Patrick Bajari and Robert Town. 1 computer file (PDF): x, 136 pages, appendices A.