Working Papers
Here is a list of my working papers.
Economic Disparities in Ride-Sharing Pricing
The study exploits Chicago's 2020 ride-hailing congestion tax as a quasi-experimental shock and implements a Diff-in-RDiT design with a weekday-aligned 2019 placebo window. Trip-level Transportation Network Provider (TNP) data are merged with census-tract socioeconomic indicators, transit and taxi activity, and weather controls. The results show that fare increases were largest in high-income areas and smallest in low-income areas: approximately +$1.97 (high), +$1.83 (middle), and +$1.26 (low) within a ±15-day window under a linear trend. These findings remain stable across bandwidth choices, polynomial trends, and log-price specifications, consistent with proxy-based third-degree price discrimination.
Reassessing the Robinson–Patman Act
The study constructs a dynamic Salop circular-city model to examine wholesale price discrimination between chain retailers and independent stores. It shows how moderate upstream cost asymmetries can induce competitive exclusion and deter entry, even when retail prices fall initially and consumers appear to benefit in the short run. The analysis reframes the Robinson–Patman Act as a policy tool aimed at preserving long-run consumer welfare by maintaining market openness and preventing cumulative market concentration.
[PDF]
Strategic Bidding and Spite in Combinatorial Clock Auctions
The paper develops a utility framework with interdependent (spiteful) preferences to explain demand expansion and price jumps observed in the FCC's Combinatorial Clock Auctions. Using WARP and GARP revealed-preference tests, the study shows that bidding paths that appear inconsistent with quasilinear utility can be rationalized once bidders derive disutility from rival surplus. In the Auction 107 (2020–21, C-band) clock phase, the study documents 23 WARP and 43 GARP violations, and estimates that a moderate spite parameter (≈0.35 for T-Mobile) rationalizes these behaviors. The results suggest that "irrational" demand expansion may reflect strategic rivalry intrinsic to the CCA price discovery process.
Joint Optimization of Repositioning and Dual-Mode Energy Replenishment for SAEV Fleets
with Dr. Yiming Xu
The paper develops a MILP-based operational framework for shared autonomous electric vehicle fleets that jointly optimizes routing, repositioning, and dual-mode energy replenishment (fast charging and battery swapping). It shows that fast charging and swapping are not perfect substitutes: each aligns with different spatial-temporal demand patterns, mobility constraints, and infrastructure congestion conditions. The study characterizes the resulting investment–service performance Pareto frontiers, illustrating how fleet operators trade off infrastructure scale, vehicle availability, and wait-time reliability under alternative deployment strategies.
Research in Progress
Here are my planned research projects.
Attention is Scarce
[PDF]
