About
I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
My research interest include urban, transportation, and real estate economics.
My current research focuses on traffic, parking, land values, building heights, and cities’ walkability.
Job Market Paper
Parking's Irritating Externality: The Congestion Cost of Cruising
Abstract: This paper uses a novel block-by-block panel data set of the price and location of garages and curbside parking to map and assess the congestion cost of on-street parking in New York City. For the average 9-to-5 car commuter, the difference-in-differences estimates show a 10% increase in travel time due to delays caused by other drivers parking on-street. Simulations based on the theoretical model show that: (i) 43% of the free on-street parking consumer surplus is eroded by self-generated congestion externalities, (ii) most drivers have a significant incentive to cruise for parking, especially in congested locations (Manhattan south of 96th street).
Work in Progress
Assessing Walkability Through Parking Prices
Abstract: This paper uses data on the price and location of garages to build a market-driven measure of walkability for New York City and Chicago. The measurement is based on the idea that the cost of walking is embedded in parking prices—drivers park close to their destination to minimize their walk. The paper lays out and estimates a theoretical model of price competition between garage operators that explains the dynamic between parking prices and walking costs. I use the model and estimated parameters to isolate the cost of walking from garage prices. Based on the estimated cost of walking, I calculate a Walkability Index that uses data on the location characteristics of all census tracts in New York City and Chicago. The Index combines several elements that affect people's willingness to walk according to the existing literature. The final output shows a strong correlation with the proportion of non-car commuters and other measures of walkability.
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 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 and Previews Work
A General Equilibrium Analysis of Bank Debit Taxes
Collateralized assets prices and monetary policy
El sistema crediticio, la política monetaria y un posible origen de ciclos y crisis financieras (with Carlos E. Posada y Jorge Tamayo)
Una caja de herramientas para incluirla política fiscal en los modelosde DSGE
Interactive Data Visualizations
Projection percentage of drivers willing to park on-street in New York City
Check the value of my Walkability Index for different locations in Chicago
Check the value of my Walkability Index for different locations in New York City
Sky Scrapers and the City Center
How central is the location of skyscrapers in American cities, and how it compares to other definitions of the city center like the location of the City Hall
Eight Decades of Urban Expansion
Expansion of the urbanized area of different American cities throughout the last eight decades (data from the American Community Survey)
See how garage prices change between weekdays and weekends in different locations
Teaching
As Instructor: International Economics, Undergraduate (ECON 420) Syllabus
Econ 420 is a course on the economic relations between countries. The course is divided into two parts: the microeconomic fundamentals of trade and the macroeconomic dynamics of international trade and capital flows. The first part of the course is dedicated to discussing the economic fundamentals of trade, answering questions like: what are the drivers of international trade relations? and who wins with trade? We answer these questions by looking at theoretical models and empirical evidence. The second part answers questions like 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)