ECON/PUBL Spring 2022 Seminar Series

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 15:14:02 -0500

Spring 2022 Seminar Series Upcoming Talks

Tuesday February 22, 2-3pm
Jamein P. Cunningham
Assistant Professor , Department of Policy Analysis and Management and the Department of Economics, Cornell University

Webex link

"The Impact of Affirmative Action Litigation on Police Killings of Civilians"
Abstract: Although research has shown that court-ordered hiring quotas increase the number of minority police officers in litigated cities, there has been little insight into how workforce diversity, or lack thereof, may impact police violence. Using an event-study framework, we find that the threat of affirmative action litigation reduces police killings of non-white civilians in the long-run. In addition, we find evidence of lower arrest rates for non-white civilians and more diverse police departments 25 years after litigation. Our results highlight the vital role that federal interventions have in addressing police behavior and the use of lethal force.

Tuesday March 8, 12-1pm
Oyebola M. Okunogbe
Economist, World Bank Development Research Group, World Bank
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"Becoming Legible to the State: The Role of Detection and Enforcement Capacity in Tax Compliance"
Abstract: Tax revenue in many low-income countries is inadequate for funding government investment in infrastructure and public services. This paper examines two dimensions of low state capacity that hinder tax collection: the inability to ascertain the tax base (detection capacity) and the inability to enforce unpaid liabilities (enforcement capacity). A randomized experiment with Liberian property owners finds that using identifying information from a newly developed property database to alert property owners that their noncompliance has been detected quadruples the tax payment rate, but only when the notice includes details on the penalties for noncompliance. A second experiment finds a further increase in compliance from signaling greater enforcement probability to delinquent property owners. These results highlight the importance of investments in both detection and enforcement capacity.

Thursday April 21, 2-3pm
Amanda Deerfield
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, St. Mary's College of Maryland

WebEx link

"Entrepreneurship and Regulatory Voids: The Case of Ridesharing"
Abstract: Formal institutions, e.g., regulations, are considered crucial determinants of entrepreneurship, but what enables regulatory change when there is a regulatory void, meaning entrepreneurship clashes with existing regulations? Drawing on public choice theory, we hypothesize that regulatory freedom facilitates the introduction of legislation to fill such voids. We test this hypothesis using unique data documenting the time for ridesharing to become legalized at the state level across the United States following its local (and often illegal) rollout. Results suggest states with greater regulatory freedom passed ridesharing legislation quicker, highlighting an underappreciated way that extant regulatory freedom facilitates the accommodation of entrepreneurship.