Research Interests
Industrial organization, labor economics, franchising, broadband
Working Papers
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“The Labor Market Effects of No-Poach Clauses in the Quick-Service Restaurant Industry”
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“The Effect of Municipal Broadband on Labor Markets: Evidence from Chattanooga, TN” [Preprint]
Abstract: This paper studies the causal effect of municipal broadband provision on local labor market outcomes using the introduction of a publicly owned fiber-to-the-home broadband network in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Municipal broadband networks are frequently justified as tools for economic development, yet credible evidence on their labor market impacts remains limited. I evaluate this policy using a synthetic control design that constructs a counterfactual Chattanooga from a weighted combination of comparable metropolitan statistical areas in the Southern United States that were not exposed to municipal broadband projects or public-private partnerships. The analysis focuses on the employment rate measured using the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), covering the period 1991-2017. While Chattanooga’s employment rate increased following the rollout of residential broadband service in 2009, placebo tests and permutation-based inference indicate that these gains are not statistically distinguishable from post-Great Recession employment growth observed in comparable cities. Overall, the results provide no evidence that Chattanooga’s municipal broadband network had a significant effect on aggregate local employment. These findings contribute to the literature on broadband policy and economic development and offer cautionary guidance for policymakers considering large public investments in government-owned broadband infrastructure.
Works in Progress
- “Multi-Unit Ownership in U.S. Fast Food Franchising” with Peter Newberry
Refereed Journal Articles
- “Broadband Speeds in Fibered US Markets: An Empirical Analysis” with James Bailey, 2021, Journal of Information Policy 11(2021): 478-522.
- Replication package for reproducing dataset and econometric results in Journal of Information Policy article
- The Center for Growth and Opportunity Working Paper, January 2021
- Replication package for working paper version
- Slides and video of presentation at TPRC48 (virtual) in February 2021
- “The Benefits of Coronavirus Suppression: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Response to the First Wave of COVID-19 in the United States” with James Broughel, 2021, PLOS ONE 16(6): e0252729.
- Cited in Bourne, Ryan A., Economics in One Virus: An Introduction to Economic Reasoning Through COVID-19, Cato Institute, April 2021
- Cited in Rezapour et al., “Economic Evaluation of Programs Against COVID-19: A Systematic Review,” International Journal of Surgery 85 (January 2021): 10-18
- Featured in Tribune News Service, “Will lockdowns really kill more people than COVID-19 itself?” with James Broughel, May 23, 2020
Other Published Work
Quantifying Regulation in U.S. States
Regulatory restriction counts for the administrative codes of the U.S. states (with James Broughel and Patrick McLaughlin)
Airplane Speeds Have Stagnated for 40 Years
Since 1976, aviation speeds stagnated, and even regressed (with Eli Dourado)
- “Narrowing the Rural Digital Divide with Consumer Vouchers” with Brent Skorup, Mercatus Center Policy Brief, October 2020
- Featured in Bloomberg Law, “Bringing Equitable Broadband Access to Rural Americans” by Brent Skorup, November 23, 2020
- Featured in Broadband Breakfast, “Modernize High-Cost Support with Rural Broadband Vouchers” with Brent Skorup, December 16, 2020
- Featured in Corridor Business Journal (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), “Iowa can address its digital divide with broadband vouchers” with Brent Skorup, April 5, 2021
- “Regulation and Net Neutrality,” Institute for Economic Inquiry, Creighton University, March 2015
Research Experience
| Title | Professor | Term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Research Assistant | Peter Newberry, UGA | Su 2023-2025, Sp 2024 |
| Analyst | JPinkse LLC | 2023-2024 |