“Water Quality Management in a Federalist Setting” (Job Market Paper)
I investigate spillover effects of state-level water quality enforcement on interstate waters. To separate the effect of state level policy from other sources of water quality variation, I compare water quality in a state and its neighbors before and after the state receives federal authorization to conduct its own pollution permitting programs. In preliminary estimates, I find no evidence of free-riding, but suggestive evidence that water quality in border rivers improves when at least one border state receives authorization from the EPA.
“Estimating Willingness to Pay for Water Quality in the United States” (with Felipe Flores Golfin)
We estimate willingness to pay for drinking water quality in the US from consumers’ avoidance behavior. Specifically, we use data on bottled water consumption and tap water quality to estimate a household level discrete choice model of drinking water. We find that households are willing to pay an extra 0.8 to 1.8 cents per oz of bottled water (10% to 23% of the median price per oz of bottled water) to avoid a decrease of one standard deviation in water quality. We also find that willingness to pay increases with income.
“Effects of Child Marriage Reform in Ethiopia”
I investigate the effect of family law reform in Ethiopia which raised the minimum age of marriage to 18. I rely on region-level variation in time of implementation to identify the reform’s effects. Consistent with prior literature, I find some positive effects, including a modest decline in very early marriage and suggestive evidence that the reform disproportionately shifts more advantaged women from early to adult marriage. Furthermore, I find improvements with regards to underage fertility, education, and wives’ decision-making power among women with exposure to community events and media access. However, I caution that these effects may be confounded by pre-existing trends. Taken collectively, my analysis is unable to reject the hypothesis that reform followed, rather than caused, upward trends in age at marriage.