abstract: This dissertation focuses on consequences of public policy on consumption responses. Chapter 1 evaluates the effect of Thailand's car tax rebate scheme in 2012 on household consumption by examining aggregate and administrative data. Car sales doubled during the policy and dramatically declined afterwards while domestic household spending was sluggish following the policy, suggesting a substantial dampening effect of the policy on future household consumption. Chapter 2 develops a formal model to evaluate Thai household consumption responses. A life-cycle model of consumption and saving is developed with features including uninsured income risks, liquidity constraints, durable goods with embedded adjustment costs and non-homothetic preference in durable goods. Adjustment costs and liquidity constraints are important frictions in the evaluation of the shorter-term responses to changes in relative prices, while non-homotheticity captures the income effect given that cars are luxury goods in the Thai economy context. Key parameters and the partial equilibrium responses, which are key inputs to inform the aggregate outcome of the policy, are estimated. The results show that the car-tax rebates had a sizable impact on slowing Thai household consumption following the policy due to high level of elasticity of intertemporal substitution among Thai households. Chapter 3 examines the effect of public smoking bans in the EU countries. Using individual-level data, this chapter investigates whether nationwide smoke-free laws in Europe lead to higher smoking reduction and cessation rates among mature smokers. Exploiting the different timing in imposing smoking ban laws and using a difference-in-differences approach, I find that light smokers and heavy smokers were more likely to quit smoking after comprehensive bans were in place while there was no significant effect on average smokers. The results confirm that smoking bans, particularly when enforced more strictly and comprehensively, lead to higher smoking cessation rates even among mature smokers with well-established addiction. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Economics 2018

在總體經濟學中，跨期替代分析方法佔有相當重要的地位。其中跨期替代彈性(the elasticity of intertemporal substitution, EIS)的大小，間接或者直接影響總體經濟中的許多層面，直覺上，例如跨期替代彈性越大，對個人而言，是對當期消費的機會成本提升，使延後消費的意願上升，同時增加個人儲蓄，在正常金融市場情況之下，個人儲蓄金額的增加，將使市場資金的供給量增多，使得企業或個人的投資機會成本降低，經由總體經濟中間接或直接的影響下，則總體經濟成長率應會上升。其中，當消費者效用函數為固定風險趨避係數(constant coefficient of relative risk aversion, CRRA)且具有跨期分割與可加性的特性，加上在傳統經濟學中，假設每個人皆為完全理性的前提下，經由跨期替代分析方法推導後，可以得到相對風險趨避係數(the coefficient of relative risk aversion, RRA)與跨期替代彈性(the elasticity of intertemporal substitution, EIS)恰好是倒數關係。 / 在過去相關研究中，Hansen and Singleton (1983)推估出跨期替代彈性值較大且顯著，但Hall (1988)強調，若考慮資料的時間加總問題(time aggregation problem)， 則前者估計出跨期替代彈性在統計上則不再是顯著；Hall亦於結論提出跨期替代彈性為小於或等於0.1，甚至比0小。在經濟意義上，代表股票市場中投資人的相對風險趨避程度(RRA)極大，直覺上，是不合理的現象，這也是著名的彈性迷思(elasticity puzzle)。於是Epstein and Zin (1991)嘗試建議並修正效用函數為不具時間分割性(non-time separable utility)的效用函數，並得到跨期替代彈性(EIS)與相對風險趨避係數(RRA)互為倒數關係，不復存在的結論。這也說明影響彈性迷思(elasticity puzzle)的原因有許多，其中之一，可能為設定不同形式效用函數所造成。 / 在傳統經濟模型中，假設完全理性的個人決策行為之下，利用跨期替代方法，可以得到跨期替代彈性(EIS)與相對風險趨避程度(RRA)互為倒數關係後，又得到隱含風險趨避程度為無窮大的推估結論。這也是本研究想要來探究的問題，即是彈性迷思(elasticity puzzle)究竟是假設所造成，或者是因為由個體資料加總成總體資料，所產生的謬誤。 / 因此，本研究與其他研究不同之處，在於利用建構時間可分離形式的效用函數(time-separable utility)模型基礎，以遺傳演算(Genetic Algorithms)方法，建構有限理性的人工股票市場進行模擬，其中，模擬方式為設定不同代理人(agent)有不同程度的預測能力，代表其理性程度的差異的表現。 / 本研究發現在有限理性異質性個人的人工股票市場下，相對風險趨避程度係數(RRA)與跨期替代彈性(EIS)不為倒數關係，且設定不同代理人不同的預測能力，亦會影響跨期替代彈性(EIS)的推估數值大小。

This dissertation thesis consists of six papers on macroeconomics, international economics, and energy economics. All the papers are tied together by the use of meta-regression analysis, which is essential for the derivation of robust policy-relevant conclusions from often conflicting results presented in the empirical literature. I use meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize the reported research results on a given topic, correct the literature for publication selection bias, and filter out the effect of various misspecifications present in some primary studies. My results can be summarized as follows: 1) The elasticity of intertemporal substitution in consumption, a key input to all dynamic models in finance and macroeconomics, varies significantly across countries. The differences can be explained by the level of stock market participation, when countries with higher participation exhibit larger values of the elasticity; the mean reported elasticity is 0.5. 2) The effect of borders on international trade, which most authors find to be surprisingly large, can be explained away by innovations in methodology introduced in the last decade. When these innovations are taken into account jointly, the border effect disappears for developed countries, and is relatively small for developing countries. 3) When...

[pt] O problema de identificação fraca surge naturalmente em modelos macroeconômicos. Consequentemente, métodos de variáveis instrumentais produzem resultados enigmáticos de forma mais frequente do que seria empiricamente razoável. Neste trabalho, propomos dois novos métodos para tratar destas dificuldades, no que tange a duas das principais equações de modelos macro: a Curva de Phillips Novo-Keynesiana (NKPC) e a Equação de Euler (EE). Sabe-se das dificuldades em se estimar um coeficiente de sensibilidade positivo entre inflação e produto no primeiro caso, e que, mesmo quando se obtém uma estimativa positiva, o nível de rigidez nominal implicado para a economia é incompatível com o que sugerem os micro dados. Nós abordamos essa questão no primeiro capítulo, propondo um modelo de economia multi-setorial com heterogeneidade na fixação de preços entre setores. O método gera coeficientes de sensibilidade positivos e estáveis para diferentes configurações econométricas, assim como níveis de rigidez nominal alinhados com a evidência micro, para a economia como um todo e também para cada setor individualmente. Todas essas estimativas variam em linha com implicações teóricas, quando hipóteses do modelo são alteradas. O foco do segundo capítulo é a estimação da elasticidade de substituição intertemporal (EIS), parâmetro central da EE. Argumentamos como o uso de séries oficiais de consumo – que são estatisticamente tratadas antes de disponibilizadas – distorce estimativas da EIS. Propondo um modelo generalizado para desfiltrar diferentes tipos de séries de consumo disponíveis, – micro e macro, com várias frequências –, demonstramos como a utilização de consumo não filtrado gera estimativas da EIS que são consideravelmente mais estáveis, independente do arcabouço econométrico e da série de consumo usada. Resultados também parecem menos sensíveis à presença de instrumentos fracos, comparativamente a estimações usando séries oficiais. / [en] The weak identification problem arises naturally in macroeconomic models. Consequently, instrumental variables methods produce puzzling results more often than what is empirically plausible. We propose novel methods to address puzzles usually featured in two of the main equations in macro models, namely the New-Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC) and the Euler Equation (EE). For the former, difficulties to estimate a positive slope without incurring a degree of stickiness incompatible with the micro evidence are widely known. We address the matter in the first chapter, proposing a richer framework of a multi-sector economy with price-setting heterogeneity. The procedure generates positive and roughly unchanging slope coefficients across econometric settings, as well as degrees of stickiness in line with the micro data, both regarding the entire economy and the cross section of sectors. Importantly, all of these estimates move consistently with implications by theory when modifying the model assumptions. The second chapter focuses on the estimation of the elasticity of intertemporal substitution (EIS), central parameter of the EE in models of dynamic choice. There, we argue that the use of officially reported consumption data – which is usually filtered, smoothed, interpolated, etc – distorts estimates of the EIS. A generalised model to unfilter available consumption data is proposed, suitable for several types of data – macro and micro – at different frequencies. Estimations based on unfiltered consumption produce considerably more stable estimates of the EIS, regardless of the econometric approach and the type of consumption data used. Results also seem less sensitive to the presence of weak instruments, compared to officially reported data.