Evaluating Emissions Reductions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: A State and Plant-Level Analysis
by Nicholas Vassilios Papavassiliou Abstract In this study, I examine the impact of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) on emission reductions in the electricity sector, focusing on three critical dimensions. First, I analyze temporal trends in emissions reductions to evaluate whether previously demonstrated progress has slowed as states exhaust low-cost mitigation pathways. Second, I […]
Who Gets Wind? Investigating Economic Attributes of Iowa Counties Prior to Wind Turbine Development
by Karianna Klassen Abstract Iowa is a national leader in wind energy, producing nearly two-thirds of its electricity from wind turbines. However, the development of wind energy infrastructure across the state has been uneven—some counties host hundreds of turbines while others have none. This paper investigates whether county-level economic conditions influence the likelihood of wind […]
Drought Exposure and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program: Impacts on U.S. Cattle Populations
by Helena Kagan Abstract This paper examines the impacts of drought conditions, as defined by the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), on U.S. beef cattle inventories between 2000 and 2023. Using a county-level panel dataset and fixed effects models that exploit geographical and time variation in drought exposure, we estimate how additional weeks of various drought […]
Alcohol Use and Assault: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from the Minimum Legal Drinking Age
by Maggie Hu Abstract While it has long been observed that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for violence, the economics literature has up until recently provided minimal persuasive evidence regarding the causal nature of this relationship. In this study, we employ a regression discontinuity (RD) framework to examine how arrest and victimization rates from […]
The Impact of Quiet Zone Implementation on Accident Incidence at Highway-rail Grade Crossings
by Jack Duhon Abstract In the last five years, (2019-2023) there have been 10,704 accidents at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) in the United States, resulting in 3,859 injuries and 1,233 fatalities. This paper seeks to address impact of quiet zones, where trains are not allowed to blow their horns before going through a crossing, on […]
The Effect of Community Uninsurance Rates on Access to Health Care among the Insured
by Isabella Antonio Abstract While the direct effects of being uninsured have been studied extensively, there is significantly less research on how a high community uninsured rate can impact health care access for insured individuals. Using data from SMART BRFSS, I examine the effect of community uninsured rates on access to health care for insured […]
The Effect of Gun Prevalence on the Occurrence of School Shootings
by Abigail Ullendorff Abstract This paper studies how gun prevalence, represented by federal firearm background checks, affects the occurrence of school shootings. While precedent literature has estimated adverse effects of school shootings on exposed children, including reductions in mental health, academic achievement, and labor market earnings, few studies have attempted to identify factors that influence […]
Arts Organizations and Community Socioeconomic Development
by Madeleine Reinhard Abstract This paper studies the effects of arts organizations on local socioeconomic development at the U.S. ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) level. While prior studies have qualitatively examined the impact of the arts industry or artistic individuals on their communities, few have approached this question econometrically, and even fewer have investigated the […]
A Two-Stage Analysis Considering Gun Theft & Overall Crime: Evidence from Child Access Prevention Laws
by Ronan Brew Abstract Child Access Prevention Laws (CAP) came to prominence in the early 1990s in the wake of the highest recorded rate of overall and adolescent firearm deaths seen in the United States at that time, placing mandatory firearm storage requirements on adults living in a home with children. While the primary – […]
