State business climate indexes capture state policies that might affect economic growth. State rankings in these indexes vary wildly, raising questions about what the indexes measure and which policies are important for growth. Indexes focused on productivity do not predict economic growth,...

This paper assesses employment growth around more than 200 new transit stations in California that opened between 1992 and 2006. Using difference-in-differences estimation, employment growth within a quarter-mile of new stations was, on average, no faster after stations opened than before they...

This paper assesses the contribution of employment location to neighborhood change and to gentrification. At the tract level, average household income change from 1990 to 2000 is positively correlated both with the change and the level of average earnings for nearby jobs. I instrument for the...

Has the rapid increase in mobile phone usage contributed to traffic fatalities in the United States? Does legislation requiring drivers to use hands-free technology while talking have any effect on traffic fatalities? Using state-level panel data on mobile phone ownership, hands-free laws, and...