Research

Works in progress

“Where to Next? Mobile Broadband and Business Dynamics”

I study the impact of mobile broadband access and smartphone adoption (together, “smartphone access”) on business dynamics. Using point-of-interest data in conjunction with estimated 3G access, I find that smartphone access favors establishments and firms that were already prominent prior to this technology becoming available. Rollout decreased establishment churn and increased the proliferation of large regional and national firms. I also identify small positive effects on the likelihood that consumer-facing establishments remain open 1-3 years after entry. Regarding location decisions, I find no evidence to support a change in new entrants’ distance to incumbent establishments larger than a few feet.

“Out of Bounds: An Examination of Portland, OR’s Urban Growth Boundary”

Urban growth boundaries reduce the supply of developable land; economic intuition suggests that such policies will increase land prices within the boundary and lead to greater density of development. Using a series of expansions in Portland, OR’s urban growth boundary from 2008-2019, I conclude that zoning changes caused by annexation to the boundary led to a 67% increase in land value per acre and a 68% increase in total valuation for annexed parcels. Renovation and new construction likewise increase by 5-7 percentage points. Spillover effects on nearby parcels are negligible, and though newly-annexed areas do see about 18% more street intersections and 13% fewer parcels. The effects are largely concentrated in the period of zoning change, which may reflect (re)development in affected areas—not a lasting increase in local housing density.

“Mobile Broadband and Consumer Price Response” [working title]

“Trip-taking and Amenity Exposure” (with Andrew Earle)

“The Micro-Geography of Productivity, Density, and Sorting” (with Oren Ziv)