Essays in Environmental and Public Economics
On Tuesday 12 August Costanza Maria Ludovica Cincotta will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.
Turbulence in Transport: Prices, Power, and Pollution
On Thursday 21 August 2025 Paula Navarro will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.
This thesis analyzes the industrial organization of transportation markets, particularly passenger air travel and private vehicles. I examine the effects of supply side disruptions and environmental taxation.
Disruptions in the supply side of a market can significantly distort prices in the short-term or even turn undesirable regulations that would otherwise be welfare enhancing. More specifically, this thesis shows that the distortions in the prices are caused by the scarcity in the input market in which the firm operates (the supply environment). The scarcity in the input market is important, as it determines ability to adjust the production capacity to the demand conditions. When inputs suddenly become scarce, consumer prices will raise. The increase will depend on the inputs that are most efficient after the disruption has occurred. When capacity is affected, this will imply that the prices changes will not be proportional to the differences in the cost of operating these inputs. This is because the marginal cost of serving a market also relates to the capacity, and not just the operation. This is shown from analysing the price hikes in the domestic flights that followed the sudden prohibition to fly the Boeing 737 MAX in the United States.
The thesis also shows that market power and taxation are two issues that cannot be examined in isolation when designing regulations, since both lead to an under-provision of goods, which is detrimental for consumers. This is illustrated with examples from the corective taxation policies in aviation and in the car market, in which substantial market power is estimated. Therefore, a more holistic view of the market that considers competition is desired to design taxes that can address environmental problems from pollution in a cost-efficient manner. In terms of methodology, the thesis combines methods based on quasi-experimental evidence and more structural analysis.
Prescribed topic for the trial lecture:
The Economics of Carbon Taxes and Cap and Trade Systems
Trial lecture:
Aud. L, 11:15
Title of the thesis:
Environmental Taxation and Industrial Organization of Transportation Markets
Defense:
Aud. L, 13:15
Members of the evaluation committee:
Assistant Professor Nicole Wägner (leader of the committee), Department of Economics, NHH
Professor Mathias Reynaert, Toulouse School of Economics
Assistant Professor Jiekai Zhang, Hanken School of Economics
Supervisors:
Associate Professor Morten Sæthre (main supervisor), Department of Economics, NHH
Assistant Professor Mateusz Mysliwski, Department of Economics, NHH
The trial lecture and thesis defense will be open to the public.
How Context Shapes Economic Decision-Making
On Thursday 28 August 2025 Weijia Wang will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.