Working Papers
The Effect of Plan B on Teen Abortions: Evidence From the 2006 FDA Ruling
An increase in the availability of emergency contraception (EC) may lead to a decrease in the abortion rate. The 2006 FDA ruling, which relaxed the prescription requirement for EC for wahine 18 and older, allows us to apply the difference-in-difference methodology on the age-by-year-by-state abortion data to test this hypothesis. Contrary to the literature, we […]
Read MoreUnemployment and Mortality: Evidence from the PSID
We use micro-data to investigate the relationship between unemployment and mortality in the United States using Logistic regression on a sample of over 16,000 individuals. We consider baselines from 1984 to 1993 and investigate mortality up to ten years from the baseline. We show that poor local labor market conditions are associated with higher mortality […]
Read MoreOrdering Extraction from Multiple Aquifers
Optimal groundwater extraction satisfies the condition that the marginal benefits of water consumption equal the full marginal cost of extraction in each period, including the opportunity cost of future benefits foregone. But how should this well-known condition be generalized when there are multiple aquifers available? We provide an extension of the “Pearce equation” to guide […]
Read MoreIntegrating Demand-Management with Development of Supply-Side Substitutes
Sustaining water availability at current prices in the face of growing demand and declining resources is not possible, and scarcity is further exacerbated by falling recharge levels due to natural hazard resilience, urbanization, and watershed depreciation. We discuss an integrated approach to water-resource development based on principles of sustainability science. In addition to demand management […]
Read MoreA Policy Analysis of Hawaii’s Solar Tax Credit Incentive
This study uses Hawaii as an illustrative case study in state level tax credits for PV. We examine the role of Hawaii’s tax credit policy in PV deployment, including distributional and tax payer impacts. Hawaii is interesting because its electricity rates are nearly four times the national average as well as has a 35% tax […]
Read MoreHow Have Catch Shares Been Allocated?
A unique database was created that describes the methods used to allocate shares in nearly every major catch share fishery in the world. Approximately 54% of the major catch share fisheries in the world allocated the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) solely on the basis of historical catch records, 3% used auctions, and 6% used equal […]
Read MoreIntergenerational Equity with Individual Impatience in an OLG Model of Optimal and Sustainable Growth
Among the ethical objections to intergenerational impartiality is the violation of consumer sovereignty given that individuals are impatient. We accommodate that concern by distinguishing intra- and inter-generational discounting in an OLG model suitable for analyzing sustainability issues. Under the assumption of constant elasticity of marginal felicity, the optimum trajectory of aggregate consumption is guided, via […]
Read MoreMarket, Welfare and Land-Use Implications of Lignocellulosic Bioethanol In Hawaii
This article examines land-use, market and welfare implications of lignocellulosic bioethanol production in Hawaiʻi to satisfy 10% and 20% of the State’s gasoline demand in line with the State’s ethanol blending mandate and Alternative Fuels Standard (AFS). A static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to evaluate four alternative support mechanisms for bioethanol. Namely: […]
Read MoreBehind-the-counter, but Over-the-border? The Assessment of the Geographical Spillover Effect of Increased Access to Emergency Contraception
Washington was the first state to ease the prescription requirements making emergency contraception (EC) available behind-the-counter at pharmacies to wahine of any age in 1998. I hypothesize that the increased availability of EC affects fertility rates beyond the borders of the state that allows it. In contrast to the literature, I show that increased access […]
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