Estimation and evaluation of externalities and complementarities.

摘要

This dissertation consists of three chapters that empirically study different types of externalities and complementarities. Broadly defined, an externality occurs if the action of one party imposes a cost or a benefit on other parties.; The first chapter examines the role of complementarities on the adoption of the DVD technology. The primary focus is the estimation of complementarities between DVD player adoption and availability of movies on DVD. Estimated complementarities are statistically and economically significant. For example, a 1% increase in new DVD releases during May 2001 would increase DVD player sales by 0.5%. Similarly, a 1% increase in DVD player owners in May 2001 increases the number of new DVD releases by 0.19%.; The second chapter studies the role of social interactions on the adoption and diffusion of DVD technology. Broadly defined, social interactions refer to the idea that the actions of a party is impacted directly by the actions of other parties in a given reference group. This type of interaction is also a form of externality since the utility from a particular action is higher for a given party if others in her reference group take the same action. The results provide evidence that social interactions impact technology adoption. Moreover, the results are in favor of the hypothesis that households are more likely to interact with peers that share similar demographic characteristics.; Finally, the third chapter studies the cost an additional driver imposes on other drivers. The auto accident externalities (more specifically insurance externalities) are estimated using panel data on state-average insurance premiums and loss costs. Externalities appear to be substantial in traffic dense states: in California, for example, a typical additional driver increases the total of other people's insurance costs by {dollar}2231 per year. In such states, an increase in traffic density dramatically increases aggregate insurance premiums and loss costs. In contrast, the accident externality per driver in low traffic states appears quite small.