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 […]
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 […]
Airline Non-Price Competition Between FSC and LCC Carriers: Varying Airline Optimization Strategies
by Lucas Johnson Abstract The goal of this paper is to extend the discourse surrounding certain topics in terms of airline optimization which is defined in this paper as the ability of an airline to efficiently transport goods and passengers as well as accrue revenue from its airplanes relative to its total capacity to transport […]
Municipal and Cooperative Internet on Broadband Entry and Competition
by Tianjiu Zuo Abstract The broadband market is unique for municipal (government-owned) and cooperative (member-owned) competitors. Their participation, however, raises conflict of interest concerns. Both municipalities and cooperatives are often owners of utility poles that are an essential input for broadband deployment. Internet service providers (ISPs) must lease pole attachment space. While most pole attachment […]
ICT Behavior at the Periphery: Exploring the Social Effect of the Digital Divide through Interest in Video Streaming
By Erik W. Hanson and Justin C. LoTurco We investigate the factors that influence changes in consumer behavior with regard to video streaming. We focus our analysis on the effect of bandwidth impairment to explore a potential consequence of the digital divide. To measure the change in relative popularity of video streaming services, we use […]
Evaluation of the Impact of New Rules in FCC’s Spectrum Incentive Auction
By Elizabeth Lim, Akshaya Trivedi and Frances Mitchell On March 29, 2016, the FCC initiated its first ever two-sided spectrum auction. The auction closed approximately one year later, having repurposed a total of 84 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum. The “Incentive Auction” included three primary components: (1) a reverse auction where broadcasters bid on the price […]
Regulatory Uncertainty: The Impact of the 2015 Open Internet Order on Broadband Infrastructure Investment
By Dane Bourcy Burkholder and Chin Jie Lim This paper analyzes the impact of the United States Federal Communication’s (FCC) March 2015 Open Internet Order (OIO) on broadband infrastructure investment outcomes such as changes in speed of services, market entry. We find that higher broadband investment levels deter potential entrants and may weed out competition […]
Small Bidder Preferences in FCC Spectrum Auctions
By Alexandra Zrenner and Chidinma Hannah Nnoromele The Federal Communications Commission faces a congressional mandate to ensure the participation of small business in its spectrum auctions. The FCC addresses this mandate using preferences for small bidders. This paper examines the impact on auction competition and outcomes of two preferences: bid credits and closed licenses. Bid […]
Resource Adequacy and Energy-Only Market Design: Assessing The Impact of ERCOT’s Operating Reserve Demand Curve1
By Max Lipscomb I examine the effect of an Operating Reserve Demand Curve (ORDC) which was recently implemented in Texas to assist power producers in recovering their fixed investment costs. I characterize and employ an economic plant dispatch model to examine the ORDC’s effects on representative natural gas plants in Texas, allowing me to determine […]
Optimizing the Electricity Bill Creating a two-part electricity tariffs to induce a targeted level of rooftop solar adoption while meeting utility operating expenses
By Hoel Weisner Renewable energy technologies are a much needed, clean alternative to the conventional fossil fuel electricity power plants of the last century. The market for installing solar panels on rooftops is a highly promising avenue for expanding the use of these technologies, but its profitability depends significantly on the electricity prices offered by […]
