22-01. Jackson Dorsey, Ashley Langer & Shaun McRae. "Fueling Alternatives: Gas Station Choice and the Implications for Electric Charging". National Bureau Economic Research, Working paper 29831, March 2022.
Abstract:
This paper estimates an imperfect information discrete choice model of drivers’ refueling preferences and analyzes the implications of these preferences for electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Drivers respond four times more to stations’ long-run average prices than to current prices and value travel time at $27.54/hour. EV adopters with home charging receive $829 per vehicle in benefits from avoiding travel to gas stations, whereas refueling travel and waiting time costs increase by $9,169 for drivers without home charging. Increasing the charging speed of the existing network yields 4.7 times greater time savings than a proportional increase in the number of stations.
22-02. Lucas W. Davis, Shaun McRae, Enrique Seira. "The competitive effects of entry in the deregulated Mexican gasoline market". March 2022.
Abstract:
The success of market deregulation in low- and middle-income countries depends on the strength of price and non-price competition between firms. In this paper, we study the recently deregulated retail gasoline market in Mexico. During our sample period, nearly 650 new gasoline stations entered the market. We estimate the causal effect of entry on the prices and quality of incumbent firms. We find that the entry of a nearby station decreases markups by nearly 4% for regular gasoline and about 2% for premium gasoline and diesel. We validate these results using the structure of ownership in the market, showing near zero impacts when the incumbent and entrant have the same owner. In addition, we show that the effect of competition on markups attenuates with distance and driving time. We find no evidence that entry affects the quality of existing stations, as measured by online ratings and regulatory inspections.
22-03. Markus Jokela, Jaakko Meriläinen, Janne Tukiainen, and Åsa von Schoultz. "Personality Traits and Cognitive Ability in in Political Selection." Aboa Centre Discussion Paper No. 152. 2022.
Abstract:
We present the first comprehensive evidence on the role of cognitive ability and personality traits in the selection of electoral candidates and election of politicians. Using unique data that combine population registers and election statistics from local government elections in Finland with tests of cognitive and non-cognitive ability of men administered by the Finnish Defense Forces, we document two main findings. First, political parties select candidates who fare better than the office-eligible population in both intelligence and personality tests that capture three dimensions of cognitive and seven dimensions of non-cognitive ability. Second, elected politicians possess more desirable traits than non-elected candidates. Our results show that a voter-oriented open-list system is able to select competent, motivated, and honest representatives. We also assess the relative importance of cognitive abilities and personality traits, present evidence of no trade-offs between politician quality and descriptive representation, and illustrate that political competition may be an important contextual factor shaping selection.
22-04. Gutiérrez, Emilio, Jaakko Meriläinen, and Antonio M. Ponce de León. "Worth a Shot? The Political Economy of Government Responsiveness in Times of Crisis" Working Paper, September 7, 2022.
Abstract:
We study the political economy of government responsiveness in the context of COVID-19 vaccine allocation in Mexico. First, we present population-level evidence that the vaccines have positive effects on public health and voter welfare. We then assess electoral drivers and consequences of the vaccination program. There is some indication that the allocation of vaccines was influenced by electoral incentives, although population size and age structure seem to be the most important predictors. We do not find any evidence that a higher vaccination coverage would have boosted electoral support for the incumbent party, on average, but it did increase electoral participation.
22-05. Meriläinen, Jaakko and Matti Mitrunen. "The loser’s long curse: electoral consequences of a class conflict." WIDER Working Paper 2022/163. December 2022.
Abstract:
This paper presents evidence of political legacies of exposure to a violent class conflict over 100 years. We revisit the Finnish Civil War of 1918 and first trace out the impact of local conflict exposure on electoral outcomes over a quarter-century period between the World Wars. The electoral performance of left-wing parties that backed the insurgents was persistently and negatively affected by civil war casualties on both sides of the conflict. Our evidence suggests that this effect can be attributed to at least three mechanisms: a mechanical effect of party supporters perishing in the civil war, a backlash against the losing side, and voters reacting to post-civil war concessions and reforms that most impacted war-affected municipalities. We also show that the civil war had a persistent impact on the Finnish electoral politics: left-wing parties have been less popular in conflict-hit municipalities even in modern-day elections.