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dc.contributor.advisorMichael Whinston and David Autor.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWernerfelt, Nils Christianen_US
dc.contributor.otherMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2017-03-10T15:05:16Z
dc.date.available2017-03-10T15:05:16Z
dc.date.copyright2016en_US
dc.date.issued2016en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107322
dc.descriptionThesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Economics, 2016.en_US
dc.descriptionCataloged from PDF version of thesis.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (pages 153-167).en_US
dc.description.abstractChapter 1 focuses on the recent dramatic shift in attitudes toward LGBT individuals in the U.S. and the accompanying rise in the number of Americans who have openly come out. We develop a model of stigma with Schelling-style tipping dynamics. Regions may be stuck in equilibria with low LGBT support and few openly gay individuals. These equilibria can be escaped via trigger events, that by causing even a small number of individuals to display their support for LGBT causes, can cause more individuals to come out, leading to more support, etc. We then evaluate our model with a large, online archival dataset on the timing of coming out decisions and public displays of support for LGBT causes for several million Americans. Using state-specific shocks to each, aggregate network data, and instrumental variables, we show how increases in LGBT support lead to elevated coming out rates in highly connected areas, and vice-versa. Chapter 2 studies a recent hypothesis that posits maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect the probability the fetus later develops asthma. Employing two large-scale studies, we test this hypothesis using a natural experiment afforded by historical variation in sunlight, a major source of vitamin D. Specifically, holding the birth location and month fixed, we see how exogenous within-location variation in sunlight across birth years affects the probability of asthma onset. We find highly significant evidence in both datasets that increased sunlight during the second trimester substantially lowers the subsequent probability of asthma. Finally, Chapter 3 is an evolutionary game theory paper about population structure. We provide a general, modularity-based framework for studying evolutionary games on structured populations under 'weak selection' that includes many previously known results as special cases. Our framework helps to show how these past disparate results are connected, and we exploit this insight to develop a general method for quantifying in closed form the effect of population structure on evolutionary dynamics. We illustrate our framework by proposing and solving a new model that generates a simple rule for the evolution of cooperation on endogenous dynamic networks.en_US
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityby Nils Christian Wernerfelt.en_US
dc.format.extent167 pagesen_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherMassachusetts Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.rightsMIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582en_US
dc.subjectEconomics.en_US
dc.titleEssays in applied microeconomics and networksen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.degreePh. D.en_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
dc.identifier.oclc972878604en_US


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