There has been little understanding of how consumers adopt and use the mobile Internet. This dissertation seeks to bridge this gap in prior literature by focusing on consumers’ cross-platform consumption behavior on mobile devices. The first study of this dissertation addresses how the adoption of mobile applications influences the use of corresponding mobile websites. Pseudo-panel analysis based on repeated cross-sectional data suggests that the introduction of a mobile app by a major national media company leads to a significant increase in demand at the corresponding mobile news website. In addition, it reports that this effect is greater for consumers with higher appreciation for concentrated news content, with stronger propensity for a particular political viewpoint, and with fewer time constraints. The results are consistent with the interpretation that adoption of a provider’s news app stimulates corresponding mobile news website visits. The second study of this dissertation examines whether the quality of local fixed-line Internet service influences mobile Internet adoption and usage. An empirical analysis shows that local fixed-line Internet speed relates negatively to mobile Internet adoption and usage; if the local fixed-line connection is insufficient, consumers tend to get online through their mobile phones. Further, better local mobile Internet speed increases the likelihood of adopting and using the mobile Internet. Neither fixed-line nor mobile Internet speed has significant impacts on mobile-specific offline services such as taking photos or videos. In some circumstances, competition between the two platforms is stronger, such as among younger consumers and those living in areas with lower fixed-line Internet speeds.

Στην παρούσα εργασία έγινε μία προσπάθεια ανάπτυξης της οικονομετρίας σαν εργαλείο για την εξαγωγή συμπερασμάτων και αποφάσεων από τα δικαστήρια. Αφορμή αποτέλεσαν οι υποθέσεις αθέμιτου ανταγωνισμού που πρόσφατα έχουν συμβεί στην χώρα μας, όπου με τη χρήση των ποσοτικών μεθόδων αποδείχτηκαν οι εναρμονισμένες πολιτικές. Περιγράφηκε η αναπτυσσόμενη ανάγκη χρήσης ποσοτικών μεθόδων στο δικαστήριο. Γίνεται αναφορά στο νομικό προηγούμενο Daubert το αποίο περιγράφει ρητά την αποδεκτικότητα μαρτυριών ειδικών επιστημόνων σε δικαστικές διαμάχες (στο νομικό σύστημα της Αμερικής). Αναπτύσσονται τα κριτήρια για να είναι μία οικονομετρική μελέτη αποδεκτή από το δικαστήριο σαν πειστήριο. Βασικές αναφορές στην οικονομετρία. Υποθέσεις που έχουν χρησιμοποιήσει οικονομετρία. Προβλήματα από την χρήση των ποσοτικών μεθόδων στο Νομικό σύστημα. Τέλος μελέτες περιπτώσεων όπου η οικονομετρική ανάλυση είχε τον πρώτο λόγο σαν αποδεικτικό στοιχεία στο δικαστήριο. / In this particular assignment an effort has been made to develop econometrics as a weapon to reach conclusions and decisions of courts. The reason for all this have been the antitrust cases which have recently occurred in our country, where policies agreed among companies have been proved by using quantitive methods. In the court the increasing need to use quantitive methods has been described. A reference has been made concerning the Daubert standard which explicitly describes the acceptance of the testimonies of scientists in litigation (in the legal system of America). What is thoroughly developed are the criteria so that it will be an econometric study which will be accepted by court as evidence. Basic references to econometrics. Cases which have used econometrics. Problems which may arise by the use of quantitive methods in the legal system. Finally, studies of cases where econometrics analysis was the most import evidence in court.

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We consider the use of a sieve bootstrap based on moving average (MA) and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) approximations to test the unit root hypothesis when the true Data Generating Process (DGP) is a general linear process. We provide invariance principles for these bootstrap DGPs and we prove that the resulting ADF tests are asymptotically valid. Our simulations indicate that these tests sometimes outperform those based on the usual autoregressive (AR) sieve bootstrap. We study the reasons for the failure of the AR sieve bootstrap tests and propose some solutions, including a modified version of the fast double bootstrap. / We also argue that using biased estimators to build bootstrap DGPs may result in less accurate inference. Some simulations confirm this in the case of ADF tests. We show that one can use the GLS transformation matrix to obtain equations that can be used to estimate bias in general ARMA(p,q) models. We compare the resulting bias reduced estimator to a widely used bootstrap based bias corrected estimator. Our simulations indicate that the former has better finite sample properties then the latter in the case of MA models. Finally, our simulations show that using bias corrected or bias reduced estimators to build bootstrap DGP sometimes provides accuracy gains.

Since the 1970's banks have been deploying Technology Based Self-Service Systems (TBSS) such as ATMs as a means of replacing human centred interaction with technology in the process of service creation with their customers. TBSS research on A TMs has been dominated by investigations focusing on the use of ATMs for cash withdrawals. However, in recent years, ATMs have evolved to handle new functions such as bills payment, cash deposits or funds transfer. Therefore, the generalisability of extant knowledge to these new functions remains un-answered. Furthermore, new fimctionalities have introduced the need to consider additional variables to those related to the traditional use of ATMs as means for withdrawing cash. One such variable that merits examination is risk, specifically the impact that perceptions of risk have on consumers' intention and ultimate use of ATMs. Responding to the above observations, the aim of this study is to examine drivers of intention to use new ATM functions. In order to address the above research gap, a theoretically grounded model is proposed. Specifically this study adopts the technology acceptance model (TAM) which draws from two general behavioural theories, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and its extension, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Attitude, ease of use and usefulness determinants of intention to use ATMs for depositing cash found in TAM are expanded by the inclusion of risk. In addition the moderating impact of consumer traits and specific factors supported by extant research and the recommendation from expert informants are also includêd in the model. Data, obtained through a postal survey addressed to ATM customers from a Spanish bank: collaborating in the investigation resulted in 461 usable replies that were analysed using Partial Least Squares. The explanatory power and stability of the model are confirmed and the need for segmenting respondents depending on whether their age is above or below 35 year old is established. Despite there are similarities within the two segments (i.e., attitude and usefulness are found significant); there are differences that need attention. Inherent novelty seeking is found significant in the younger segment while risk is found significant in the older segment. The results make the following important theoretical contributions to the subject matter. There are confounding effects due to the lack of segmentation in previous research. Attitude and usefulness are significant for cash withdrawals and cash deposits while ease of use is significant for cash withdrawals but not cash deposits and risk is significant for cash deposits but not for cash withdrawals. The results from the present study challenges the view and results that demonstrates moderating effects. On the strength of the above managerial guidelines are proposed.

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Transportation policy is playing an increasingly important role in the transition towards more fuel-efficient vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). Whether the policy seeks to promote adoption through mandatory requirements or through monetary incentives, or to address issues related to adoption of AFVs, it is clear that such policies can have large-ranging impacts on the future of the US transportation system. The work I conduct in my dissertation seeks to understand these policies, in the past, present, and future. I evaluate the effects of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) on the adoption of HEVs. As part of EPACT, a tax credit incentives program was implemented for consumers purchasing HEVs. Using a unique fixed effects regression approach with lagged instrumental variables, I am able to estimate the effects of the incentives. I find most significant responses occur when incentives exceed $1,000 in tax cd credit. Depending on the vehicle model the presence of EPACT yielded increases in sales of 5% to 15%. This increase is relatively smaller compared to many existing studies, which my work indicates is likely the result of over-attribution of sales to policy. I go on to examine the effects of the adoption of electric vehicles on funding for transportation infrastructure. A significant portion of revenue for transportation infrastructure comes from taxes on gasoline, these funds will likely be diminished to some extent as electric vehicles are adopted as they consume little to no gasoline as fuel. Using several existing electric vehicle models, I find that at the per-vehicle level, revenue generation can be upwards of 50% lower in certain states depending on how fees are charged. The total annual revenue generation at the federal level could decrease by as much as $200 million by 2025, though this is quite a small portion of total revenues for transportation infrastructure. I demonstrate that the revenue decrease can easily be made up through small policy fee changes in either flat fixed or through incremental increases in use fees, though implementation of such policies can be difficult politically. I also focus on the recent implementation of alternative fuel vehicle incentives in the 2009 update of the CAFE standards. I demonstrate that while the AFV incentives help spur the production and adoption of AFVs, there is a short-term emissions penalty due to the structure of the policy. i find that every AFV sold results in an increase in emissions rate for another vehicle of 50-400 grams of CO2 per mile, comparable to adding an additional conventional vehicle onto the road. The cumulative effect is an increase of 20 to 70 million metric tons of CO2 for vehicles sold between 2012 and 2025. I further extends this work by investigating how other policies promoting AFV sales interact with the CAFE policy. I focus specifically on the California ZEV mandate interaction and find that there is an increase of 120 million metric tons of CO2 for new cars sold between 2012 and 2025. The analysis also demonstrates a counter intuitive effect: the greater the success of ZEV in inducing adoption of AFVs, the greater the short-term emissions penalty due to the two policies. Finally I examines the response of driving behavior response to changes in gasoline prices. Using a unique dataset obtained from Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation, we are able to observe annual driving behavior at the individual vehicle level from 2000 through 2010. We observe heterogeneity of price elasticities using two methods: separating data by quantiles over the factors of interest and by interacting the factors of interest as categorical variables with gasoline prices. We find statistically significant variations in elasticities: for driving intensities we observe values of -0.172 increasing up to -0.0576 as the amount driven annually increases, for gasoline prices we observe a range of elasticities from -0.002 to -0.05 for prices below $4/gallon with a sudden increase to -0.182 for prices above $4/gallon, lastly for fuel economies we find that below 20 MPG elasticities are highest at -0.173 with decreasing responsiveness as vehicle fuel economy increases. Heterogeneity needs to be accounted for in order to properly understand policy effects: responses based on average elasticity values are likely to be incorrect.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has recently come under scrutiny from media and fans due to the perception that some franchises are losing games on purpose in an attempt to win a higher draft pick. While researchers have concluded tanking does exist in the NBA, this is the first paper to analyze the strategy’s success in terms of generating increases in future winning percentage or future franchise value. This paper, through panel data regressions controlling for fixed effects for 21 seasons, has found that tanking does have a large impact on future winning percentage. A team that tanks typically sees a significant increase in wins of approximately 9.87 games between the 2nd and 4th year after the team tanked. These results have large implications for the league as the NBA recently began draft reform discussions to reduce the incentive to tank. This paper validates the leagues’ belief that draft reform must occur as tanking can give an unfair advantage in future years.