Zeng, Jiangnan
(2024)
Three Essays on Political Economy.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This dissertation consists of three essays that contribute to the fields of public economics, urban economics, and political economy. Chapter one investigates the impact of racial representation in local government on individual migration decisions, public goods provision, and residential segregation. I have constructed a novel migration dataset from North Carolina voter registration records, which allows me to track individual migration patterns within and across cities. The analysis shows that having a Black mayor reduces the amenities disparity between majority-Black and white neighborhoods and increases the overall population in majority-Black neighborhoods. The cumulative impact of these population shifts results in increased racial segregation. Chapter two studies the unintended impact of mayors' promotion incentives on regional economic growth and subnational-level GDP manipulation in China. Our findings indicate that GDP manipulation makes performance-based competition between mayors devolve into a data manipulation game. In Chapter three, we provide new causal evidence on how racial representation in elected office shapes policing behavior and outcomes, and especially racial disparities therein. We find that increased nonwhite council representation significantly reduces Black-white gaps in stops and actions taken after a stop, which is largely driven by individual officer-level behavior change rather than a change in the composition of the police force.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
12 April 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
7 May 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
175 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Economics |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Racial Representation, Migration, Inequality, Local Politics, Policing Behavior |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Aug 2024 14:30 |
| Last Modified: |
27 Aug 2024 14:30 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46391 |
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