Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0413-4973

Date of Award

Summer 8-1-2022

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Daniel Kreisman

Second Advisor

Thomas A. Mroz

Third Advisor

Stefano Carattini

Fourth Advisor

Lauren Hoehn-Valesco

Fifth Advisor

Sebastian Findeisen

Abstract

This dissertation has two chapters in the field of applied microeconomics. Chapter one studies Crisis Pregnancy Centers and fertility outcomes. The second chapter, co-authored with Stefano Carattini, Alexander Gordan and Andreas Loschel, investigates municipal building codes and solar photovoltaic adoption.

Chapter 1: The ``pro-life'' movement has sought to end the practice of abortion in the United States for the past 50 years. Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are an integral part of this effort, and provide counseling services from an anti-abortion perspective. I study the location choice of CPCs and the impact of CPCs on fertility outcomes. CPCs lower the local abortion rate by 4 to 6 percent among teenagers and young women. CPCs also cause an increase in birth rates among older women.

Chapter 2: National policies promoting the adoption of solar photovoltaics may be counteracted by local policies defining the aesthetics of the built environment. As solar photovoltaic energy reaches or approaches grid parity globally, non-pecuniary barriers to the adoption of this important renewable energy source will become increasingly salient. Using unique data from Germany, a leader in solar adoption, we document that the expansion of solar photovoltaics has been accompanied by a rise in municipalities amending their building codes to restrict solar installations, often with an eye toward preserving the historical nature of the town. We find that municipalities that implement solar policies have less solar photovoltaic capacity than municipalities in the control group.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/30611666

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