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on Discrete Choice Models |
| By: | Lee, Yongsung; Circella, Giovanni; Chen, Grace; Kim, Ilsu; Mokhtarian, Patricia L. |
| Abstract: | Pooled trips in private vehicles, or pooling, can lead to smaller environmental impacts and more efficient use of the limited roadway capacity, especially during peak hours. However, pooling has not been well adopted in part because of difficulties in coordinating schedules among various travelers and the lack of flexibility to changes in schedules and locations. In the meantime, ridehailing (RH) provides pooled services at a discounted fare (compared to the single-travel-party option) via advanced information and communication technology. This study examines individuals’ preferences for/against pooled RH services using information collected among travelers answering a set of questions related to their last RH trip. In doing so, both trip attributesand rider characteristics are considered. Taste heterogeneity is modeled in a way that assumes the presence of unobserved groups (i.e., latent classes), each with unique preferences, in a given sample of RH riders (N=1, 190) recruited in four metropolitan regions in Southern U.S. cities from June 2019 to March 2020. The researchers find two latent classes with qualitatively different preferences, choosy poolers and non-selective poolers, regarding their choice in favor of/against pooling based on wait time, travel costs, purpose, and travel party size of the last RH trip. Personal characteristics are also identified, specifically age and three attitudes (travel satisfaction, environmentalism, and travel multitasking), which account for individuals’ class membership. This research contributes to the literature by explicitly modeling taste heterogeneity towards pooled ridehailing. In addition, unlike existing studies either at the person level or employing stated-preference data, a trip-level analysis is performed in connection with revealed preferences, which generates more realistic and relevant implications to policy and practice. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Shared mobility, pooled ridehailing, stated preferences, latent- class choice model, taste heterogeneity |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt1dc3v8ms&r=dcm |
| By: | Arpita Ghosh (Department of Economics, University of Exeter); Brendon McConnell (Department of Economics, City University of London); Jaime Millán-Quijano (Navarra Center for International Development, Universidad de Navarra) |
| Abstract: | We study the housing market response to a country-wide policy that mandated the provision of energy efficiency information with all marketing material at the time of listing. Using the near universe of housing sales in England and Wales, we match in the energy efficiency status of the property from Energy Performance Certificates data. We develop a conceptual framework that makes clear the key channels through which the policy may impact house prices - an information-driven salience channel and a market valuation channel. We provide causal evidence of homebuyers' willingness to pay for a higher energy rated property, documenting a 1-3% premium to a higher energy efficiency rating at the national level, and a 3-6% premium in the London market. We explore a set of key margins along which homebuyers can respond, ruling out as explanations both a consumption channel and an information channel. We conclude that the elevated EPC-rating premiums are driven by a market valuation channel, a conclusion for which we provide empirical support. Such a conclusion is of key policy importance, as it suggests market-facing energy efficiency regulations can increase demand for more energy efficient housing, even in absence of any discernible demand-side consumption or information effects. |
| Keywords: | hedonic price models, energy performance certificates, real estate |
| JEL: | R38 Q48 K32 |
| Date: | 2024–01–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exe:wpaper:2401&r=dcm |
| By: | Federica Braccioli; Paolo Ghinetti; Simone Moriconi; Costanza Naguib; Michele Pellizzari |
| Abstract: | We study the choice of acquiring STEM and non-STEM college education using variation induced by the proximity to universities offering different types of programs. We adopt a novel methodology allowing the identification of the distribution of response types and treatment effects in a multiple unordered discrete choice setting (Heckman and Pinto, 2018). The empirical analysis is based on confidential survey data for Italy, combined with administrative information about the founding dates of all Italian universities and faculties. We find that most compliers are women at the margin of choosing STEM education versus not going to college. We simulate the effects of expanding the supply of STEM education and discover that, in addition to substantial effects on employment, the gender disparity in STEM education could potentially decrease by up to 20%. |
| Keywords: | monotonicity, returns to education, STEM, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | I23 I26 I28 J31 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10842&r=dcm |
| By: | Zhukovskiy, Vladislav; Zhukovskaya, Lidia; Mukhina, Yulia; Samsonov, Sergey |
| Abstract: | In this article single-criterion choice problems under uncertainty (SCPUs) are considered. The principle of minimax regret and the Savage–Niehans risk function are introduced. A possible approach to solving an SCPU for a decision-maker who simultaneously seeks to increase his outcome and reduce his risk ("to kill two birds with one stone") is proposed. The explicit form of such a solution for the linear-quadratic setup of the SCPU is obtained. |
| Keywords: | guaranteed solution, single-criterion choice, Savage–Niehans risk, minimax regret, uncertainties |
| JEL: | C0 C00 C02 |
| Date: | 2023–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:119396&r=dcm |
| By: | Silvia Castro (LMU Munich); Clarissa Mang (LMU Munich) |
| Abstract: | Social pressure and stigma can hinder the adoption of available technologies, especially in the context of sensitive health issues. We run a field experiment on the take-up of menstrual products in Bangladesh and test a discussion-based intervention in a work setting. We vary participation in group discussions designed to break the silence around menstruation, where colleagues share their personal experiences. We find positive effects on the willingness to pay for a known menstrual product (sanitary pads) and on the adoption of a new technology (anti-bacterial menstrual underwear). Our results show changes in restrictive social norms around purchasing the products and lower perceived stigma around menstruation in general. |
| Keywords: | social norms; social pressure; stigma; technology adoption; group discussions; menstrual health management; menstrual hygiene; adverse health behavior; |
| JEL: | D91 I12 I15 O12 |
| Date: | 2023–12–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:474&r=dcm |
| By: | Upasak Das (Global Development Institute, University of Manchester); Rupayan Pal (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Udayan Rathore (Oxford Policy Management); Bibhas Saha (Durham University Business School) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the role of Generalized Social Trust (GST) in promoting public health during pandemics. We theorize and empirically test the effect of GST on individual's likelihood (LTP) and willingness to pay (WTP) for vaccines of different efficacy. Using survey data from Madhya Pradesh, India, which was collected just before the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in 2021, we find a positive role of GST in promoting LTP and WTP for different vaccine variants. Our identification strategy relies on exogeneous variation in out-group trust of neighbors of respondents as instrument variables. The findings are robust to multiple internal validity checks. Importantly, we find that when efficacy of the vaccine falls, the marginal effects of GST on LTP and WTP increase. The finding suggests that when an individual with higher GST faces a higher chance of infecting others through availability of lower efficacy vaccine, she is less likely to free ride and thus pay more at the margin. |
| Keywords: | Social trust, Vaccine efficacy, COVID-19, Outer-group trust, Willingness to Pay |
| JEL: | I12 H23 H51 Z13 I18 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2023-008&r=dcm |
| By: | Sania Ashraf; Cristina Bicchieri; Upasak Das. Alex Shpenev |
| Abstract: | Open defecation, which is linked with poor health outcomes, lower cognitive ability and productivity, has been widespread in India. This paper assesses the impact of a randomized norm-centric intervention implemented in peri-urban areas of Tamil Nadu in India on raising the value attached to residence in areas with a lower prevalence of open defecation, measured through Willingness to Pay (WTP). The intervention aimed to change social expectations about toilet usage through audio announcements, wall paintings, household visits, and community meetings. The findings indicate a significant increase in the WTP for relocating to areas with lower prevalence of open defecation. The results are consistent when using local average treatment effect estimations wherein the possibility of spillovers in the control areas is accounted for. They are also robust to potential bias due to local socio-political events during the study period and COVID-led attrition. We further observe a significant increase in toilet ownership and usage. While assessing the mechanism, we find that change in empirical expectations through the intervention (what one believes about the prevalence of toilet usage in the community) is one of the primary mediating channels. Normative expectations (what one believes about community approval of toilet usage) are found to have limited effect. The findings underscore the need for norm-centric interventions to propel change in beliefs and achieve long-term and sustainable sanitation behavior. |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2312.16205&r=dcm |
| By: | Aknouche, Abdelhakim; Gouveia, Sonia; Scotto, Manuel |
| Abstract: | A common approach to analyze count time series is to fit models based on random sum operators. As an alternative, this paper introduces time series models based on a random multiplication operator, which is simply the multiplication of a variable operand by an integer-valued random coefficient, whose mean is the constant operand. Such operation is endowed into auto-regressive-like models with integer-valued random inputs, addressed as RMINAR. Two special variants are studied, namely the N-valued random coefficient auto-regressive model and the N-valued random coefficient multiplicative error model. Furthermore, Z-valued extensions are considered. The dynamic structure of the proposed models is studied in detail. In particular, their corresponding solutions are everywhere strictly stationary and ergodic, a fact that is not common neither in the literature on integer-valued time series models nor real-valued random coefficient auto-regressive models. Therefore, the parameters of the RMINAR model are estimated using a four-stage weighted least squares estimator, with consistency and asymptotic normality established everywhere in the parameter space. Finally, the new RMINAR models are illustrated with some simulated and empirical examples. |
| Keywords: | integer-valued random coefficient AR, random multiplication integer-valued auto-regression, random multiplication operator, RMINAR, WLS estimators |
| JEL: | C13 C22 C25 C43 C51 C53 |
| Date: | 2023–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:119518&r=dcm |