Date of Award
8-30-2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This thesis consists of three chapters, each of which aims to investigate the role of uncertainty in residential land use. The first chapter “Residential Choice under Uncertainty: Brownian Motion in Idiosyncratic Taste for Location” introduces uncertainty in idiosyncratic taste for location into a monocentric city model of residential land use. Each household's idiosyncratic taste follows Brownian motion in space. This captures the idea that the extent of uncertainty is greater for far-away locations. When a household is risk averse, this uncertainty induces migration aversion in the household. In the case with two income types, I show that there may be a region in the city where two types collocate. Furthermore, in such a mixed region, the land consumption for lower income households may be decreasing in distance from the central business district. In the second chapter “Testing Negative Land Consumption Gradient” examines the implication obtained in the first chapter that the land consumption for lower income households may be decreasing in distance from the central business district. The chapter uses two separate data sources on Atlanta: the U.S. 1990 Census of Population and Housing Summary Files and American Housing Survey 1996 Metropolitan Public User File. For each data source, the linear regression that explains some proxy of land consumption by the household income and the distance from the central business district is performed. In both data sources, the regression shows that the proxy of land consumption is decreasing in the distance from the central business district for lower income households, and it is increasing in the distance from the central business district for high income households. Therefore, the implication in the first chapter is confirmed in those data sources. The third chapter, “Residential Choice under Random Commuting Utility” investigates a different type of uncertainty from the first chapter, which is common for all households. In particular, this chapter focuses on uncertainty about commuting costs. The commuting component in the household’s utility is modeled using geometric Brownian motion. In that case, compared to the case without uncertainty the in commuting component, the welfare measured as the utility of the household decreases. Furthermore, the equilibrium market rent is higher at locations close to the central business district and is lower at suburbs when uncertainty exists, compared to when there is no uncertainty.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Marcus Berliant
Recommended Citation
Imai, Yuichi, "Essays on Urban Economics" (2023). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3153.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/3153