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Thesis advisor: Zhijie Xiao / The first two chapters study the copula Markov model combined with nonstationarity. The last chapter proposes a new structural break test with good size and power. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

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An increasing volume of empirical literature demonstrates the possibility of spatial autocorrelation in land value models. A number of objections regarding the methodology followed in those empirical studies have been raised. This thesis examines three propositions. The first proposition states that there is spatial dependence in the land value model in Roanoke County. The second proposition is that mechanical construction of neighborhood effects, or grouping nearby land parcels into neighborhoods, is not always the best way to capture spatial effects. Finally, the third and most important proposition states that by implementing a comprehensive set of individual and joint misspecification tests, one can better identify misspecification error sources and establish a more statistically sound and reliable model than models based on existing spatial econometric practices. The findings of this dissertation basically confirm the validity of those three propositions. In addition, we conclude that based on their development status prices of land parcels in Roanoke County may follow different stochastic processes. Changes in the values of hedonic variables have different implications for different groups of land parcels. / Ph. D.

Across the U.S., wildfires have become increasingly destructive and costly over the past few decades, with impacts particularly severe in the State of Florida. Because of an increase in wildfire frequency and severity and the number of people living in fire-prone areas the issue of wildfire risk management is of growing significance. One of the most important wildfire risk reduction tools is prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads, thereby reducing wildfire intensity and resulting damages. Because fire moves across a landscape and ownership boundaries, the spatial pattern of fuel load reduction may influence individual landowners' decisions about fire risk management on their own property. We develop and empirically test a spatial econometric model to study the interaction between Florida landowners in their wildfire risk management decisions. / Master of Science

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Economics / Philip G. Gayle / This dissertation seeks to answer questions regarding changes in the competitive environment in international air travel markets which has undergone rapid changes since the early 1990s. Specifically, the research in this dissertation examines policies regarding cooperation among airlines in international air travel markets as well as how cooperation affects an airline's product quality. These issues are explored in two essays which comprise my dissertation. The first essay explores the efficacy of a policy known as a carve-out. Airlines wanting to cooperatively set prices for their international air travel service must apply to the relevant authorities for antitrust immunity (ATI). While cooperation may yield benefits, it can also have anti-competitive effects in markets where partners competed prior to receiving ATI. A carve-out policy forbids ATI partners from cooperating in markets policymakers believe will be most harmed by anti-competitive effects. We examine carve-out policy applications to three ATI partner pairings, and find evidence of tacit collusion in carve-out markets in spite of the policy, calling into question whether consumers benefited from application of the policy in the cases studied. The second essay examines the relationship between product quality and airline cooperation. Much of the literature on airline cooperation focuses on the price effects of cooperation. The key contribution of our paper is to empirically examine the product quality effects of airline cooperation. Two common types of cooperation among airlines involve international alliances and antitrust immunity (ATI), where ATI allows for more extensive cooperation. The results suggest that increases in the membership of a carrier's alliance or ATI partners are associated with the carrier's own products having more travel-convenient routing quality. Therefore, a complete welfare evaluation of airline cooperation must account for both price and product quality effects.

This study expands on previous research regarding the effect of CEO performance on firm value. An event study is conducted using a market model of CEO successions and daily returns in order to generate predicted returns. Two separate regressions are run using a 3 day and 5 day event window respectively. The results of the regressions are using to compare abnormal returns between industries and market capitalization. While some daily abnormal returns are statistically significant, cross-sectional analysis of CAR are for the most part not significant. Further study is needed in order to come to a stronger conclusion.

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There are 32 teams in the National Football League all competing to be the best by creating the strongest roster possible. The problem of evaluating talent has created extreme competition between teams in the form of a rookie draft and a fiercely competitive veteran free agent market. The difficulty with player evaluation is due to the noise associated with measuring a particular player’s value. The intent of this paper is to create an algorithm for identifying the inefficiencies in pricing in these player markets. In particular, this paper focuses on the veteran free agent market for offensive linemen in the NFL. NFL offensive linemen are difficult to evaluate empirically because of the significant amount of noise present due to an inability to measure a lineman’s performance directly. The algorithm first uses a machine learning technique, k-means cluster analysis, to generate a comparative set of offensive lineman. Then using that set of comparable offensive linemen, the algorithm flags any lineman that vary significantly in earnings from their peers. It is in this fashion that the algorithm provides relative valuations for particular offensive lineman.