Mauricio Arango

I use data on prices and locations of garages, along with the characteristics of all census block groups in New York City and Chicago to construct a 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 imbedded in parking prices when there is competition between garage operators. The paper lays down and estimates theoretical model that explain this dynamic. The Walkability Index presented in this paper combines several elements consider to affect walkability by the urban planning literature. The produced index has a strong correlation with the proportion of non-car commuters. The measure is designed so it can replicated in other cities.

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.