This dissertation examines the effects of micro-level inequality on political preferences and voting behavior.

This paper analyzes municipal expenditures in the light of horizontal fiscal interactions. I investigate total expenditures and a set of non-earmarked expenditure subcategories in the largest German federal state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The empirical analysis is based on a Spatial Durbin Model in a panel for the years 2009-2015. Using a two-regime spatial matrix, I also examine the impact of agglomeration on the intensity of public expenditure interactions, thus testing the hypothesis that an agglomerated region can decrease the amount of public goods without losing mobile factors to the periphery. The findings indicate that significant municipal expenditure interaction effects do exist. The reaction functions also vary for different expenditure subcategories. Unlike spillover effects and fiscal competition, yardstick competition is an insignificant source of potential interactions. Expenditure interaction is fiercer if there is less agglomeration in a municipality. Urbanized and populous municipalities appear to benefit from agglomeration economies, a fact that enables them to spend less. Robustness checks confirm the findings.

The 21st century experienced several health crises, especially in the form of infectious disease outbreaks such as the SARS outbreak in 2003, the H1N1 in 2009, and Ebola outbreaks in 2013. However, none has produced a worldwide socio-economic and health impact compared to the recent pandemic, known as COVID-19. As of October 4, 2022, more than 614 million cases with 6 million deaths have been reported worldwide. The United States is currently in the leading position with more than 98 million cases and 1 million deaths. The pandemic, however, did not impact the entire region similarly, and the infections and intensity varied with geographical and socio-economic characteristics. In this project, I used a multi-method approach to analyze the relationship between health disparities and COVID-19-related health outcomes in the USA and examine the influence of health disparities reporting on newspaper coverage of COVID-19. This assessment was performed in three ways. First, I have explored the relationship between Mississippi’s county-level COVID-19-related cases and deaths with the Center for Disease Control and Preventions’s Social Vulnerability Index (CDC SVI). Second, I have investigated the spatial pattern of COVID-19 in the USA and its associations with Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) by utilizing the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHRR) dataset.Finally, I analyzed how news media reporting of key health determinants (i.e., age, race, income and gender) is framed, including the role of different stakeholders in the context of COVID-19. Findings revealed a statistical relationship between CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and Mississippi’s county-level COVID-19 cases and deaths. I also found that COVID-19 infections showed considerable spatial heterogeneity as the distribution of COVID-19 cases and deaths varies across the US counties and among the three largest waves. The multiple regression results also exhibited a temporal association between social determinants of health (SDH) indicators and COVID-19-related health outcomes across the USA. Finally, I found that the NYT coverage of COVID-19 dealt more with human interest, responsibility, and conflict than economic and morality frames. The findings revealed the vital role social determinants of health play during a health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

過去一般認為，土地供給是固定不變，故價格彈性為零。這樣的思考方式背後隱含需求面才是不動產市場的主導力量，因此土地供給面往往被忽略。不動產僵局的議題近年來不斷出現在世界各國，臺灣社會也不例外。由此觀之，都市住宅供給過程中，似乎不完全由市場需求面主導，尤其都市進入成熟發展階段後，土地供給面的重要程度更應該被突顯。故本研究從供給角度出發，並認為土地面積和產權在都市住宅供給過程中，可能扮演關鍵的角色。透過本研究提出之二維向度分析，也確實發現開發難度和住宅區開發量間存在一定的負向關係，為後續迴歸分析的立論基礎。市場力量或政府力量是否能克服基地面積過小和產權複雜問題，亦是本研究關注之重點。 利用臺北市民國94年到103年的使用執照和拆除執照，以里為分析單元，計算臺北市各里住宅區的樓地板面積淨增加率，並觀察其在空間上之高低分布。影響樓地板面積淨增加率的因素除包含土地面積和產權因素，亦應包括總體因素，區位與政策因素。一般迴歸模型和空間迴歸模型之實證結果顯示：各里中住宅供給多寡主要受到總體因素影響。此外，劃定都市更新地區之政策亦具有吸引建築投資之效果。然而土地面積並非是影響住宅供給之關鍵因素。但本研究進一步發現，在相同條件之下，產權單純對於住宅開發供給多寡的差異，因臺北市區位而有不同，住宅開發供給量由多至少依序為早期發展區、郊區和市中心。且在早期發展地區，產權越複雜的里比起產權較單純的里，住宅供給確實有較少的趨勢，顯示土地產權仍然在臺北市部分地區，造成開發上的問題。 / It is understood that land supply is fixed and the price elasticity is zero, which implies that the side of demand is the dominant force in the real estate market. Because of this the supply side of land is often ignored. The issues of gridlock of real estate development are emerging in recent years worldwide, and Taiwan is no exception. In these instances the market does not seem entirely dominated by demand in the process of housing supply. Especially in cities which have entered a mature stage of development, the importance of land supply should be highlighted. This study is taking the perspective of supply and considering that lot size and land property key roles in the process of housing supply. Throughout this study, we proposed a two-dimensional analysis and indeed found that there was a negative relationship between development difficulty and the amount of residential development, which was the theoretical basis for the subsequent regression analysis. Whether market force or government force can overcome the problems of small lot size and complex land property was also a focus of attention in this study. We used Building Use Permit and Demolition Permit from the year2005 to2014 in Taipei and the analysis units were individual neighborhoods. We calculate net increasing rate of floor area in residential sections of Taipei and observe its distribution in space. Factors affecting net increasing rate of floor area in residential sections include lot size and ownership factors, as well as general factors, region and policy factors. According to ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatial regression, the empirical results show that housing supply in each neighborhood in Taipei is dominated by general factors. In addition, the policy of the delineated renewal areas has the effect of attracting construction investment. However, the lot size was not a key factor in the process of housing supply. Furthermore, the study found that under simple land property conditions, housing supply discrepancies over location in Taipei and supplied quantity in order was the old core, periphery and center. And in the old core, compared to the neighborhoods of simple land property, the housing supply in neighborhoods of complex land property has a decreasing trend which reveals that land property is still causing development problems in parts of Taipei.

Kleine regionale Flughäfen leiden oft unter begrenzter Nachfrage sodass sie ihre Kosten nicht decken können. Die Frage ist wie solche Flughäfen effizient strukturiert, bewirtschaftet und möglicherweise finanziell unterstützt werden können. Viele solcher Flughäfen werden einzeln betrieben und erhalten direkte lokale oder nationale Subventionen, während andere von den Quersubventionen leben. Die Dissertation befasst sich zuerst mit der Abschätzung der Effizienz von 85 regionalen europäischen Flughäfen (2002-2009) durch Anwendung der „Data Envelopment Analysis“. Die Schätzungen zeigen, dass die potenziellen Einsparungen 50 Prozent und gesteigerten Einnahmemöglichkeiten 25 Prozent betragen. Die Zugehörigkeit zu einem Flughafensystem reduziert die Effizienz um 5 Prozent. Das durchschnittliche Break-Even Passagieraufkommen hat sich im letzten Jahrzehnt mit 464.000 Passagiere mehr als verdoppelt. Die Flughäfen hätten ihre Kosten mit allein 166.000 Passagiere decken können, wären sie effizient betrieben worden. Der zweite Teil beschäftigt sich mit einem Vergleich der Flughäfen von AENA und DHMI (2009-2011). Eine „Russell measure“ der DEA zeigt, dass die Mehrheit der Flughäfen unter zunehmenden Skalenerträge arbeitet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen höhere durchschnittliche Effizienz der spanischen Flughäfen. Aber ein verstärkte privates Engagement steigert die Effizienz in den türkischen Flughäfen. Wir schlagen verschiedene wirtschaftspolitische Optionen vor um die Effizienz zu verbessern, wie zum Beispiel die Dezentralisierung von Flughafen-Management und die Verbesserung des Flughafennetzes durch die Schließung ineffizienter Flughäfen. Im letzten Teil wird eine räumliche Regressionsmethode verwendet um verschiedene Hypothesen zu testen. Die Ergebnisse von subventionierten französischen und norwegischen Flughäfen zeigen eine negative Auswirkung von Subventionen auf Kosteneffizienz der Flughäfen. Darüber hinaus wird die Bedeutung von Skaleneffekten veranschaulicht. / Small and regional airports often have insufficient revenues to cover their costs. The question is how such airports could be efficiently structured, managed and financially supported. Some airports are operated individually and receive direct subsidies from the local and federal governments. Others survive through cross-subsidizations. This dissertation first deals with the efficiency of 85 small regional European airports for the years 2002-2009 by applying a data envelopment analysis. Estimates show the potential savings and revenue opportunities to be 50 percent and 25 percent respectively. Belonging to an airport system reduces efficiency by about 5 percent. The average break-even passenger throughput over the last decade more than doubled to 464 thousand passengers. However airports behaving efficiently could have covered their operational costs with a mere 166 thousand passengers annually. The second part addresses the comparison of airports belonging to AENA and DHMI for the years between 2009 and 2011. The majority of airports operate under increasing returns to scale. A Russell measure of data envelopment analysis is implemented. Results indicate higher average efficiency levels at Spanish airports, but private involvement enhances efficiency at Turkish ones. Certain policy options including a greater decentralization of airport management and the restructuring of the airport network (by closing some inefficient airports) should be considered to increase the airport systems’ efficiency. In the final part of the dissertation, we have studied how the airport specific characteristics drive the unit costs. In order to capture the spatial interdependence of airport costs, a spatial regression methodology is applied. Two separate datasets of subsidized French and Norwegian airports are used to test various hypotheses. The results show a negative effect of subsidies on airport cost efficiency. Furthermore, the significance of scale economies is illustrated.

This study examines geographic patterns and geographic factors of residential burglary at the Nashville, TN area for a twenty year period at five year interval starting in 1988. The purpose of this study is to identify what geographic factors have impacted on residential burglary rates, and if there were changes in the geographic patterns of residential burglary over the study period. Several criminological theories guide this study, with the most prominent being Social Disorganization Theory and Routine Activities Theory. Both of these theories focus on the relationships of place and crime. A number of spatial analysis methods are hence adopted to analyze residential burglary rates at block group level for each of the study year. Spatial autocorrelation approaches, particularly Global and Local Moran's I statistics, are utilized to detect the hotspots of residential burglary. To understand the underlying geographic factors of residential burglary, both OLS and GWR regression analyses are conducted to examine the relationships between residential burglary rates and various geographic factors, such as Percentages of Minorities, Singles, Vacant Housing Units, Renter Occupied Housing Units, and Persons below Poverty Line. The findings indicate that residential burglaries exhibit clustered patterns by forming various hotspots around the study area, especially in the central city and over time these hotspots tended to move in a northeasterly direction during the study period of 1988-2008. Overall, four of the five geographic factors under examination show positive correlations with the rate of residential burglary at block group level. Percentages of Vacant Housing Units and Persons below Poverty Line (both are indicators of neighbor economic well-being) are the strong indicators of crime, while Percentages of Minorities (ethnic heterogeneity indictor) and Renter Occupied Housing Units (residential turnover indictor) only show modest correlation in a less degree. Counter-intuitively, Percentage of Singles (another indicator of residential turnover) is in fact a deterrent of residential burglary; however, the reason for this deterrence is not entirely clear.

生育率的降低是影響台灣地區近年來人口老化的顯著因素，因其變化幅度通常高於死亡率，對人口結構的影響較大。過去台灣地區生育率研究多為整體生育(如：總生育率、年齡別生育率)趨勢的模型，較少探討台灣各地區的特色。為能更深入瞭解台灣生育行為變化的特性，本文將生育率的研究層面由整體的資料，延伸至全台灣地區的各鄉鎮市區（不含離島地區有350個鄉鎮市區），希冀能更精確地找出與台灣地區生育率持續下降的相關因素。本文分為兩個部份，以鄉鎮市區的年齡別婦女生育率與年齡別有偶婦女生育率為研究對象，資料時間為1991、1992、2001、2002年：第一部份探討各鄉鎮市區的生育率數值間是否存在空間相關性，並進一步瞭解生育率較高（或較低）的地區是否有聚集的現象。第二部份則套用空間迴歸模型探討與生育率數值有關的因素（例如：人口密度、教育程度等），更精確且客觀地提供生育率未來趨勢的建議。 關鍵字：生育率、人口老化、空間統計、空間群聚、空間迴歸 / Both the fertility rates and mortality rates, especially the fertility rates, have been experiencing dramatic decreases in recent years, and the population aging thus has become one of the major concerns in Taiwan area. In order to identify the factors that are related to the decrease of fertility rates, unlike the previous works that deal with the aggregate national data, we will study the fertility pattern in township level. We will use the data of age-specific fertility rates and total fertility rates in 1991, 1992, 2001, and 2002 in 350 townships of Taiwan area. This study will be separated into two parts. First, we shall explore if there is spatial correlation among 350 townships of Taiwan area and detect if there are spatial clusters for higher fertility townships. The second part of this project will be focused on the spatial regression model. We will use this model to determine the factors that are highly correlated to the dropping of fertility rates. Key Words: Fertility Rates, Aging Population, Spatial Statistics, Spatial Clustering, Spatial Regression

Submitted by LUCAS TELES DE FARIA null (lucas.teles.faria@gmail.com) on 2016-04-06T05:42:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE_DOUTORADO_ENG.ELETRICA_LUCAS-TELES-DE-FARIA.pdf: 4869615 bytes, checksum: 5cea8811bb7d053c5440e3d6fb5d55cd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-04-07T19:51:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 faria_lt_dr_ilha.pdf: 4869615 bytes, checksum: 5cea8811bb7d053c5440e3d6fb5d55cd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-07T19:51:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 faria_lt_dr_ilha.pdf: 4869615 bytes, checksum: 5cea8811bb7d053c5440e3d6fb5d55cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Neste trabalho o espaço geográfico é incorporado ao estudo das perdas não técnicas. Os trabalhos avaliados em perdas comumente não consideram a localização espacial das mesmas de forma explícita. No entanto, o estudo das características do lugar onde elas ocorrem pode trazer informações imprescindíveis para melhor compreensão do problema. O espaço é incorporado via técnicas de análise espacial de dados geográficos. A saber: análise espacial de padrões de pontos e análise espacial de dados agregados por áreas. A localização das perdas é obtida através de dados de inspeções reais georreferenciados obtidos a partir de uma concessionária de energia elétrica. Os atributos socioeconômicos do censo demográfico e da rede de distribuição de energia do lugar onde ocorrem as perdas são considerados via técnicas de regressões espaciais. São elas: modelo aditivo generalizado (GAM) e regressão geograficamente ponderada (GWR). Esses atributos são as variáveis independentes das regressões espaciais e auxiliam na explicação da disposição das perdas no espaço geográfico do município em estudo. Essas regressões são combinadas com as cadeias de Markov para produção de mapas de probabilidades de perdas. Esses mapas indicam as subáreas do município que são mais vulneráveis às perdas em termos probabilísticos. Por meio deles, estima-se a evolução das perdas não técnicas no espaço geográfico do município ao longo do tempo. Os mapas de probabilidade de perdas são uma ferramenta gráfica, de fácil interpretação e que auxiliam no planejamento de uma série de ações de prevenção e combate às perdas. Este estudo foi realizado em um município de porte médio do interior paulista com aproximadamente 81 mil unidades consumidoras, sendo que os resultados das simulações foram comparados com dados reais de inspeções em campo. A taxa de acerto para estimação das áreas vulneráveis às perdas via modelo aditivo generalizado (GAM) e cadeias e Markov foi superior a 80%. / In this work the geographic space is incorporated into the study of non-technical losses. Studies on non-technical losses do not often consider the spatial location of them explicitly. However, the study of the characteristics of the place where they occur can provide essential information to better understanding of the problem. The space is incorporated via spatial analysis techniques of geographical data; to know: spatial analysis of point patterns and spatial analysis of data aggregated by areas. The location of the losses is determined via georeferenced inspections data obtained from an electrical power utility. Socioeconomic attributes of the census and the distribution network of energy of the place where the losses occur are considered using the spatial regressions techniques; namely: generalized additive model (GAM) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). These attributes are the independent variables of spatial regressions and assist in the provision of the explanation of the losses in the geographical space of the city under study. These regressions are combined with Markov chains to produce the loss probability maps. These maps show the city subareas that are more vulnerable to losses in probabilistic terms. Through them, the evolution of non-technical losses in the geographical area of the city over the time is estimated. The loss probability maps are a graphical tool, easy to interpret and to assist in planning a series of actions to prevent and combat to losses. This study was conducted in a medium-sized city of São Paulo with about 81,000 consumer units, and the simulation results were compared with real data obtained in field inspections. The hit rate for the estimation of areas vulnerable to losses via generalized additive model (GAM) and Markov chains surpasses 80%.

近年臺北市政府試圖藉由興建品質良好的公共住宅，解決住宅價格高漲影響人民居住的問題，然附近居民往往認為公共住宅會造成周圍住宅生活環境品質低落及房價下跌，反對其於住家鄰近興建。過去國內缺乏以實證方式計算公共住宅對周圍住宅價格之影響，亦尚未針對新推出的公營出租住宅個案深入分析；而國外相關研究雖有利用量化實證公共住宅與周圍房價關係，然多針對個別公共住宅社區為研究對象，對不同類型公共住宅及其對不同高低房價住宅之影響與差異，缺乏更全面的探討分析，且亦未釐清住宅價格的空間自相關特性及公共住宅設立的不同階段等，對周圍房價影響效果的差異。 本文應用特徵價格理論傳統迴歸模型、空間迴歸模型及分量迴歸模型，以2012年7月至2015年9月之臺北市不動產實價登錄交易資料為對象，研究整建住宅、出售國宅、出租國宅、公營出租住宅等四類不同時期公共住宅，於100~300公尺不同影響範圍下，分別對周圍住宅價格的影響效果。另外並選取興隆公共住宅作為個案研究對象，以臺北市文山區不動產實價登錄交易資料為對象，應用差異中之差異法結合空間迴歸模型，分析興隆公共住宅的興建完工與住戶入住對於周圍住宅價格之外溢效果。實證結果顯示，附近有早期興建之整建住宅及出租國宅者，其住宅總價皆呈現顯著下跌現象，分別下跌約1.7%至8.9%及1.5%至7.7%；附近有出售國宅之住宅總價漲跌情形不顯著；而近期興建之公營出租住宅則造成周圍住宅價格顯著上漲約1.7%至7.7%；又前述影響程度皆隨影響範圍擴大而隨之減輕。進一步分析不同影響範圍下對周圍高低房價住宅的影響，公營出租住宅對周圍低價住宅正向提升效果為6.2%至7.1%，皆大於高價住宅之無顯著影響至3.2%。而興隆公共住宅的興建完工確實能使周圍住宅價格較外圍地區多提升約6.5%至15.8%，惟住戶入住興隆公共住宅則未具顯著正向的價格外溢效果。由新興辦的公營出租住宅對周圍房價造成正面影響的實證結果，應可釐清公共住宅外部性之正向效果，有助後續公共住宅的興建。 / In recent years, government has tried to build the public housing with high quality to solve the living problems caused by the soaring of the house price. However, residents beside the public housing often regard them as Nimbys that will detrimentally affect property values and oppose public housing to be built nearby. There were short of empirical studies that focus on the effects of public housing on nearby property, as well as the case study of social housing newly built in Taiwan. Besides, the empirical studies in foreign only select a specific public housing as their subject, which few of them analyze different effects caused by different types of public housing, ignore different effects on nearby property with different values, and have not clarify whether the spatial autocorrelation of property values as well as the construction and operation of the social housing leads to different results. This study analyzes the effect of social housing, resettled tenement, public housing for rent and for sale on nearby property values in different ranges separately by using hedonic price theory OLS, spatial and quantile regression as model, and selecting the sale price of real estate in Taipei City from July 2012 to September 2015 as sample. Besides, Xing-Long Social housing and sale prices of real estate in Wenshan district of Taipei City are also selected for case study applying Difference in Difference method with spatial regression, in order to analyze the nearby property values changes after the construction and the move in of the residents of Xing-Long social housing. The result shows that although resettled tenement and public housing for rent detrimentally affect the property values by 1.7% to 8.9% and 1.5% to 7.7% separately, public housing for sale does not affect the property values significantly, and social housing positively affects the property values by 1.7% to 7.7% on the contrary. In addition, these effects decline with distance from public housing. With regard to the impact on high and low priced property in different ranges, social housing has positive effect on low-priced property by 6.2% to 7.1% and no significant effect to 3.2% on high-priced property. The construction of Xing-Long social housing has positive spillover effect by 6.5% to 15.8%, however, the move in of the residents does not. Empirical results show that social housing newly built are able to enhance the property values nearby, which is contributed to the follow-up construction of the public housing.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The objective of this research is to examine the development of the California alcohol outlets over time and the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and densities of the alcohol outlets. Two types of advanced analyses were done after the usual preliminary description of data. Firstly, fixed and random effects linear regression were used for the county panel data across time (1945-2010) with a dummy variable added to capture the change in law regarding limitations on alcohol outlets density. Secondly, a Bayesian spatio-temporal Poisson regression of the census tract panel data was conducted to capture recent availability of population characteristics affecting outlet density. The spatial Conditional Autoregressive model was embedded in the Poisson regression to detect spatial dependency of unexplained variance of alcohol outlet density. The results show that the alcohol outlets density reduced under the limitation law over time. However, it was no more effective in reducing the growth of alcohol outlets after the limitation was modified to be more restrictive. Poorer, higher vacancy rate and lower percentage of Black neighborhoods tend to have higher alcohol outlet density (numbers of alcohol outlets to population ratio) for both on-sale general and off-sale general. Other characteristics like percentage of Hispanics, percentage of Asians, percentage of younger population and median income of adjacency neighbors were associated with densities of on-sale general and off sale general alcohol outlets. Some regions like the San Francisco Bay area and the Greater Los Angeles area have more alcohol outlets than the predictions of neighborhood characteristics included in the model.