Mauricio Arango

Work in Progress

Parking Prices, Cruising, and Congestion

Abstract: Downtown parking in large cities is usually characterized by expensive garages and cheap curbside parking. This price difference creates an incentive that produces congestion as drivers that park on-street must cruise in search of parking. On the other hand, garage customers face a search cost close to zero as garage operators only accept costumers when they have availability. This paper uses novel and existing data on garages, curbside parking, and traffic speed to map and assess the effects of on-street parking on traffic in New York City. The paper rationalizes the connection between parking prices and traffic through a theoretical model, that is later estimated and calibrated to produce estimates of the costs and benefits related to on-street parking.

Crowning the Metropolis: Skylines, Land Values, and Urban Population (with David Albouy and Minchul Shin)

Abstract: In the U.S., the height of cities' tallest buildings is strongly correlated with their greater metropolitan area's population. This is explained through land prices, which rise proportionally with population and income in a monocentric city model, while decreasing proportionally with the arc at which a city can expand. These prices in turn raise building heights less than proportionally through a production function for skyscrapers, mitigated by construction costs and land-use regulations. Using a system of recursive simultaneous equations, we endogenize income with agglomeration economies and test these economic relationships, providing a novel and intrinsically interesting instrumental variables framework for skyscraper heights.

Working Papers

Assessing Walkability Through Parking Prices

Abstract: This paper uses data on prices and locations of garages, along with characteristics of all census tracts in New York City and Chicago, to build an objective market-driven measure of walkability for the two cities. The concept is as follows: as drivers wish to park close to their destination the cost of walking is embedded in parking prices. The paper lays out and estimates a theoretical model of price competition between garage operators that explains the dynamic between parking prices and the cost of walking, this produces a framework to measure walkability that can be extended to other cities. The Walkability Index presented in this paper combines several elements considered to affect walkability by the urban planning literature. This index shows a strong correlation with the proportion of non-car commuters.

A General Equilibrium Analysis of Bank Debit Taxes

Abstract: Taxes on bank debit transactions have been used as an easy way to collect substantial revenue, especially during economic crisis. The existing literature has found evidence of distortionary effects of this policy on money demand and interest rates, even if the tax is charged at very low rates. Instead of studying these monetary topics, this paper develops a general equilibrium model with no money and no nominal rigidities to explain the effects of bank debit taxes on real resources allocation, welfare, and revenue. The study demonstrates that bank debit taxes reduce the size of the financial system and increase deadweight loss. The model also shows that under certain plausible situations, these levies reduce the size of the sector that manufactures high-value goods.

Links to previews work:

Collateralized assets prices and monetary policy.

El sistema crediticio, la política monetaria y un posible origen de ciclos y crisis financieras.

Una caja de herramientas para incluirla política fi scal en los modelosde DSGE.

Data Visualizations

Teaching

As Instructor: International Economics, Undergraduate (ECON 420) Syllabus

This is a course on the economic relations between countries, its main structure is divided in two: the microeconomic fundamentals of trade and the macroeconomic dynamics of international trade and capital flows. The first part of the course will be dedicated to discussing the economic fundamentals of trade to answer questions like: What are the drivers of international trade relations? and who wins with trade? We answer these questions by looking at theoretical model that explain the microeconomics of trade. The second part answers the question how the economy reacts to changes in trade tariffs, monetary policy, and fiscal expenditure. To answer these questions, we look at: the national accounts and balance of payment, macroeconomic models of an open economy, and the effects of policy shocks—monetary, fiscal, and trade—on different economic variables.

As Teaching Assistant: Economic Statistics II, Undergraduate (ECON 203)