Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Chairassamee_Dissertation.pdf (807.26 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Three Essays on Regional Economics

Chairassamee, Nattanicha
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9663-2878
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu159403761183635

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics.
This proposal is for three studies related to issues regarding local human capital, international trade, housing supply, and migration in the United States. The first chapter studies the total offshoring effect on local employment through productivity effect across U.S. counties. According to the theoretical framework in Wright (2014), offshoring possibly exerts both the productivity effect and the displacement effect on the labor market. Previous empirical studies, however, have paid little attention to whether the productivity effect of offshoring exists and how it affects employment. To address this gap, this study empirically investigates the total offshoring effect on local employment, based on the productivity and displacement effects across U.S. counties. I find evidence of productivity expansion that lifts employment from offshoring; however, this is roughly offset by the direct displacement effect. In total, offshoring’s impact on local employment is statistically insignificant. My results show that the positive effect of productivity expansion is offset, because offshoring encourages the substitution of domestic capital for labor. At the same time, offshoring industries have weak linkages to domestic non-offshoring industries. The productivity expansion from offshoring does not significantly affect the production of non-offshoring industries, and therefore does not increase total employment. My results show an incomplete reallocation effect, which is an obstacle for the adjustment to full employment. The second chapter investigates recent trends about resident and nonresident enrollment in public universities during the state budget cuts from 2005 to 2015. The decline in state budget cuts have raised concerns about revenue decreases at public universities, which could lead to the disproportionate enrollment of out-of-state students, who pay higher tuition rates. To examine the issue, this study investigates the decision-making of public universities about in-state and out-of-state student enrollments. I find that out-of-state enrollment is elastic, while in-state enrollment is relatively less elastic. There is evidence that public universities prefer enrolling local students rather than nonresident students. Yet, for those public universities participating in regional exchange programs, where out-of-state exchange students pay in-state tuition rate, I find strong competition for enrollment between in-state and out-of-state exchange students. In the third chapter, it examines the housing supply restriction effects on labor markets and college attendance. Different restrictions in the housing supply generate substantial variations in housing prices across the United States. As a result, these restrictions determine employment growth within an area. In turn, a change in employment growth determines the migration rates of both low- and high-educated workers, as well as decisions about college attendance. In this study, I assemble evidence on housing supply regulations and examine their effects on metropolitan-area human capital. Locations with highly restrictive regulations show a relatively low proportion of college graduates among their residents and rely more on highly educated migrants. The study suggests that a very highly restricted housing supply can slow down human capital growth.
Mark Partridge (Advisor)
Ian Sheldon (Committee Member)
Abdoul Sam (Committee Member)
Wuyang Hu (Committee Member)
120 p.
Economics; Education; Labor Economics
offshoring; employment; capital investment; substitution effect; productivity effect; higher education; enrollment decisions; tuition rates; reciprocity programs; land-use regulations; human capital; university enrollment; migration

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Chairassamee, N. (2020). Three Essays on Regional Economics [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu159403761183635

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Chairassamee, Nattanicha. Three Essays on Regional Economics. 2020. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu159403761183635.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Chairassamee, Nattanicha. "Three Essays on Regional Economics." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu159403761183635

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu159403761183635
159
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.