Accepted Papers

The Review of Economic Studies is one of the most highly respected academic journals in the field of economics. It is known for publishing leading research in all areas of economics, from microeconomics to macroeconomics. The journal is published by the Oxford University Press.

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Taxes Depress Corporate Borrowing: Evidence from Private Firms

Ivan T. Ivanov, Luke Pettit, and Toni M. Whited

We use variation in state corporate income tax rates to re-examine the relation between taxes and corporate leverage. Contrary to prior research, corporate leverage rises after tax cuts for small private firms. An estimated dynamic equilibrium model shows that tax cuts make capital more productive and spur the use of leverage. Tax cuts also produce more distant default thresholds and lower credit spreads.

All Along the Watchtower: Military Landholders and Serfdom Consolidation in Early Modern Russia

Andrea Matranga and Timur Natkhov

This article examines the emergence of coercive labor institutions using the case of serfdom in early modern Russia. We argue that serfdom consolidated under the pressure of landholding military elites who gained political influence due to the prolonged struggle with steppe nomads. To contain nomadic raids, the Russian state erected defense lines on the southern frontier, and granted land in the area to soldiers in charge of its defense. The soldiers could not farm while on defense duty, nor could they compete in the market for peasant labor, as the land had been selected for its defensive rather than agricultural value.

Demand Analysis under Latent Choice Constraints

Nikhil Agarwal and Paulo Somaini

Consumer choices are constrained in many markets due to either supply-side rationing or information frictions. Examples include matching markets for schools and colleges; entry-level labor markets; limited brand awareness and inattention in consumer markets; and selective admissions to healthcare services. We analyze a general random utility model for consumer preferences that allows for endogenous characteristics and a reduced-form choice-set formation rule that can be derived from models of the examples described above.

Structural Change, Land Use and Urban Expansion

Nicolas Coeurdacier, Florian Oswald, and Marc Teignier

How do cities grow in the process of structural transformation? To answer this question, we develop a multi-sector spatial equilibrium model with endogenous land use: land is used either for agriculture or housing. Urban land, densely populated due to commuting frictions, expands out of agricultural land. With low productivity and high subsistence needs, farmland is expensive, households cannot afford large homes and cities are very dense.

To Own or to Rent? The Effects of Transaction Taxes on Housing Markets

Lu Han, L. Rachel Ngai, and Kevin D. Sheedy

Using sales and leasing data, this paper finds three novel effects of a higher property transaction tax: higher buy-to-rent transactions alongside lower buy-to-own transactions despite both being taxed, a lower sales-to-leases ratio, and a lower price-to-rent ratio. This paper explains these facts by developing a search model with entry of investors and households, households choosing to own or rent in the presence of credit frictions, and homeowners deciding when to move house.

Slum Upgrading and Long-run Urban Development: Evidence from Indonesia

Mariaflavia Harari and Maisy Wong

Developing countries face massive urbanization and slum upgrading is a popular policy to improve shelter for many. Yet, preserving slums at the expense of formal developments can raise concerns of misallocation of land. We estimate causal, long-term impacts of the 1969-1984 KIP program, which provided basic upgrades to 5 million residents covering 25% of land in Jakarta, Indonesia. We assemble high-resolution data on program boundaries and 2015 outcomes and address program selection bias through localized comparisons.

The Origins and Control of Forest Fires in the Tropics

Clare Balboni, Robin Burgess, and Benjamin Olken

Environmental externalities – uncompensated damages imposed on others – lie at the root of climate change, pollution, deforestation and biodiversity loss. Empirical evidence is limited, however, as to how externalities drive private decision making. We study one such behavior, illegal tropical forest fires, using 15 years of daily satellite data covering over 107,000 fires across Indonesia. Weather-induced variation in fire spread risk and variation in who owns surrounding land allow us to identify how far externalities influence the decision to use fire.

What Do Policies Value?

Daniel Björkegren, Joshua E. Blumenstock, and Samsun Knight

When a policy prioritizes one person over another, is it because they benefit more, or because they are preferred? This paper develops a method to uncover the values consistent with observed allocation decisions. We estimate how much each individual benefits from an intervention, and then reconcile the allocation with (i) the welfare weights assigned to different people; (ii) heterogeneous treatment effects of the intervention; and (iii) weights on different outcomes.

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