Research Interests:
Macroeconomics, Industrial Organization, The Economics of Risk and Time, Microeconomic theory
Working Papers:
This paper investigates the validity of firm-level markup estimation techniques, particularly the cost accounting (CA) approach—a straightforward, transparent, and data-thrifty alternative that sees minimal modern application. While the production function (PF) approach has quickly become a workhorse method, several biases challenge its validity. The trend in U.S. markups is qualitatively and quantitatively robust to CA, suggesting that it is not driven by biases. I develop a validation test utilizing Dorfman-Steiner's (1954) advertising equation. CA tends to outperform PF, dramatically so in some cross sections. CA’s data-thrifty nature enables use when alternatives are infeasible; I illustrate this with several applications.
Vigilance, Risk Vulnerability and The Precautionary Augment (With Miles Kimball) [Draft Availible Upon Request]
Abstract:
Risk raises the expected marginal utility of a prudent agent. We define this proportional change as the precautionary augment. The precautionary augment measures the risk-induced shifts in the marginal value of saving, the Lucas Tree risk-free rate, and asset prices in a model where market-state securities provide incomplete coverage against idiosyncratic risk. One agent is said to be more vigilant than another if their precautionary augment is larger for all unfair risks. We develop a geometric approach to the diffidence theorem to derive bivariate necessary and sufficient, and univariate sufficient conditions for vigilance. We show that risk vulnerability is equivalent to decreasing vigilance. Evaluating an agent against their less wealthy self, classic results of Gollier and Pratt (1996) emerge as corollaries.
Publication:
Quality vs Quanity When Time is Scarce (Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 2026)
How do consumers decide between quality and quantity, and what drives heterogeneity in quality choice? This paper introduces a tractable model of consumer choice in which quality sorting emerges endogenously from wage heterogeneity in the presence of time opportunity costs of consumption. Consumers must allocate more time to consume larger quantities, while quality allows consumers to increase utility without affecting their time budget constraints. The model predicts that higher-wage consumers choose higher quality while higher-wealth consumers choose higher quantity. This leads consumers to view quality and quantity as distinct concepts and offers a tractable alternative to discrete choice models, explicitly incorporating both dimensions.
Works In Progress:
Time Dependent Risk Aversion (With Miles Kimball and Giacomo Rondina) [Draft Coming Soon]
On the Limits to Elasticity of Substitution with Symmetry
The Iterative Normalized Gradient Method Addition Method (With Daniel Benjamin, Derek Lougee, Ori Heffetz, and Miles Kimball)
From Revenue to Production: Identification and Estimation (With Qingsong Pan and Lixue Zhou)