Three Essays in Applied Microeconomics

This dissertation consists of three independent chapters in applied microeconomics. In the first chapter, I study the causal effect impact of early life circumstances on adult psychological well-being using the property reform in China as a positive and policy driven change in economic resources in early life. Exploiting the staggered adoption of the reform, I find that exposure to property reform during the in-utero period and early childhood leads to higher adult life satisfaction, higher adult happiness, and better adult mental health. Birth weight, parental investment, adult health, and subjective assessments of one's circumstances are likely operative channels of effect. In the second chapter, I study the impact of hurricanes on higher education enrollments and completion in the U.S. By comparing the colleges and universities that experienced hurricanes to those that never experienced hurricanes, this paper finds that full-time equivalent enrollments and total degrees awarded by two-year community colleges fall by a significant 10.7 and 12.5 percent, respectively, 0-10 years after the hurricane. No significant changes are found for four-year universities. In the third chapter, my coauthor and I estimate the impact of Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance exchange (Marketplace) subsidies on mortgage applications and originations using comprehensive mortgage application record data. We use a difference-in-differences approach that exploits variation in county health insurance coverage rates at the time of reform. We find that the subsidies increased the amount of residential mortgages applied for by low-income households and the amount actually originated by financial institutions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]