In many important economic situations, decision makers influence each other. The subject of game theory offers a mathematical framework to describe such strategic interaction. This dissertation focuses largely on helping to answering the question,"What will someone do in a particular strategic situation?" In order to do this, it is useful to interweave theory with experimentation. After all, observation of what people really do is a necessity when attempting to create models of what people really do. At the same time, theory can help significantly when formulating interesting hypotheses to test. The chapters in my dissertation illustrate this interweaving of theory and experiments.

This dissertation is a program evaluation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) the largest publicly owned utility in the United States. The first essay in this dissertation examines the TVA's use of eminent domain in order to acquire property for the construction of reservoirs. It develops a new model of asymmetric information and then tests the model predictions using property level data from TVA property purchases in the 1930's.The second essay of this dissertation examines the unintended consequences of reservoir development my examining changes in the malaria rate associated with TVA reservoirs. Using panel data methods, I find that the presence of a TVA reservoir leads to large increases in the malaria mortality and morbidity rate, which cost up to 30 percent of TVA federal appropriations. The final essay in this dissertation examines the impact of TVA electrification programs on economic growth. It combines archival and panel data methods to show that contrary to the historical account, TVA electric rates did not differ substantially from the rates charged by private utilities, and secondly, shows that counties that had electricity contracts with the TVA did not have differential economic growth rates for a variety of economic outcomes. In order to control for selection into contracts, I adopt an instrumental variables strategy based on the cost of electric service.

In the presence of business groups, the expropriation through related party transactions (RPTs) is common and costly to minority shareholders. At the same time, it is well recognized that RPTs can help firms overcome market shortcomings. Using the setting of India's RPT voting rule, I find that a mandatory and binding shareholder voting mechanism helps filter out expropriation. Minority shareholders actively raise their voice against RPT resolutions, resulting in substantial shareholder dissent. My difference-in-difference analysis reveals that shareholder voting has a significant deterrence effect on RPT volume, especially on financial RPTs. I also find that stock prices react positively to news signaling the passage of the voting rule, and that the association between firm profitability and RPT increases following rule's adoption, suggesting that rule has a positive effect on shareholder value. Lastly, I show that mandatory RPT voting makes Indian firms more attractive to foreign institutional investors.

In the late 1990s, looking to improve its fiscal situation, the Village of Port Chester, New York, decided to approve the redevelopment of a 27-acre site that comprised a large section of its downtown. The centerpiece of the 1999 plan was a big-box shopping center and multi-tier parking structure. To build the project, Port Chester used eminent domain to raze most of its South Main Street, along with adjacent blocks--an area already full of small shops and businesses. The village took this action in the name of “public good,” replacing the small-scale buildings and family owned businesses with big-box retail--including Costco, a Loews multiplex, DSW shoes and Bed Bath & Beyond. The village’s goal was to replace a “blighted” area (the term a vestige of legal and rhetorical constructs surrounding mid-20th century urban renewal) with a more upscale one--bringing in, as officials saw it, more tax revenue and creating jobs. This dissertation examines the mechanics and the consequences of this kind of large-scale land clearance, especially in the context of a small suburban municipality. Far from being an anomaly, the Port Chester project is an example of an ongoing trend: the use of eminent domain in the service of economic development, which we can see as a kind of present-day urban renewal. / text

Graduation date: 1983

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1938. / Typescript. Includes abstract and vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--University of Oregon. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 332-356).

Thèse - Bordeaux. / Bibliography: p. [483]-507.

Based on thesis, University of London. / "Published under the auspices of the London Institute of World Affairs." Bibliography: p. 272-277.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.