Externalities of Overhead Power Lines on Residential Housing Values
by Jake Park-Walters
Abstract
Overhead electricity transmission lines (OHLs) create negative externalities on nearby housing values largely from perceived factors including aesthetics, safety, and health. Studies have been performed outside of the US to determine the specific value impact of power lines by proximity. It is not, however, well researched within the United States–specifically in suburban and urban areas. To assess the value loss from overhead power lines, this study examines housing transactions in North Carolina from 1997 to 2020 with a particular emphasis upon cities and townships. With GIS software, proximity variables are calculated such that a difference-indifference regression can estimate the impact of distance to OHL on transaction values. This is important for local policy regarding whether municipalities may want to invest into burying power lines as a means of improving local property values. The results attempt to illustrate how burying high impact lines (HILs) can generate high public benefit relative to cost through marginal value of public funds (MVPF) calculations. These HILs may be chosen based on a variety of factors including proximity to dense, high value housing to maximize value improvement by burial.
Professor David Berger, Faculty Advisor
Professor Michelle Connolly, Faculty Advisor
JEL Codes: L94, H76, D04
Keywords: Electric Utilities, Policy Evaluation, Local Government Expenditure
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Program Characteristics and Economic Conditions That Affect WIC Participation
By Amy Tingle
WIC is one of the most expansive food assistance programs in the United States. Despite extensive research demonstrating the health benefits of participation, there is a sizable gap between those that are eligible and those that enroll. This paper studies how economic conditions and program characteristics affect both eligibility and coverage rates using post recession data from 2010–2013. The results show that the average monthly food benefit is positively correlated with take–up. They also indicate that the unemployment rate is correlated with eligibility but not take–up, meaning that in times of economic downturn, people enroll at the same rate as before.
Advisor: V. Joseph Hotz | JEL Codes: D04, D60 | Tagged: Participation in Federal Assistance, WIC Program
Video Game Sales: Does Diversity Pay?
By Hai Lin “Helena” Wu
The video game industry has grown into a mature market in the past decade, surpassing the size of the U.S. film industry in 2009. As a result of the rise in popularity of video gaming amongst many demographic groups of the American population, the underrepresentation of female and ethnic minorities in video games has become an increasingly relevant topic of discussion. This paper empirically examines the effects of including female and ethnic minority lead characters on the equilibrium sales volume of video games. Through the use of a reduced-‐form regression, the equilibrium quantity is regressed on a list of exogenous variables pertinent to the interest of this study. The findings suggest that the inclusion of female and minority lead characters affects sales of different genres of games in distinct manners, suggesting that the video game market has a heterogeneous consumer base with a diverse range of preferences. In addition to empirical work, one of the main contributions of this paper is creating a new and unique dataset (N=712) on game attributes, especially with regard to character gender and ethnicity. This paper’s findings have implications on the game design decisions for video game producers.
Advisor: Kent Kimbrough, Lori Leachman | JEL Codes: D00, L1, L82 | Tagged: Entertainment, Ethnicity, Gender, Sales, Video Game
Marijuana Pricing Structure and State-Level Price Determinants
By Rebecca Li
This study uses the PriceofWeed.com data set first examined in Thies (2012) to analyze the price-quantity relationship for marijuana transactions and to determine the effect of various state-level factors on marijuana prices. By applying the cost-based full fixed cost recovery pricing model developed by Britney, Kuzdrall, and Fartuch (1983), this paper finds support for an inverse price-quantity relationship for marijuana rather than a logarithmic or linear relationship. User-rated quality is robust and significant across all models, and price-quantity discount elasticity of -0.220 is observed empirically. An analysis of state-level legal, demand-side, and supply-side determinants of marijuana price demonstrates that medical marijuana has a negative relationship with price, perhaps due to the reduction in risk faced by suppliers when medical marijuana is legalized.
Advisor: Michael Munger, Phil Cook | JEL Codes: D04, I18, K42 | Tagged: Marijuana, Price, Quality, Transaction Size
