Working Papers: 

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​​1. Who Benefits from the Enforcement of Anti-Gouging Laws? Evidence from Personal Cleaning Products during COVID-19

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Abstract: This paper examines the impact of anti-gouging laws on retail prices, sales, and consumer welfare during demand shocks. Using data on U.S. consumers buying personal cleaning products during the COVID-19 pandemic, I analyze the enforcement of these laws—implemented as caps on price increases—across retail channels and simulate their welfare effects. Descriptive evidence shows that the laws had little impact on prices or sales: sellers on Amazon occasionally raised prices beyond the 20% threshold; caps were rarely binding for brick-and-mortar stores, and tightening the cap from 20% to 10% did not further suppress price increases. Structural estimates indicate that strict enforcement of a 20% cap would have induced some redistribution toward more price-sensitive consumers, but its impact was negligible at the peak of the shortage—both in terms of the share of goods reallocated and the per-person welfare gain. To address distributional inequality, governments should consider targeted transfers to low-income households, which enhance purchasing power without distorting prices. Link to the paper

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Keywords: Anti-Price Gouging Laws; Price Caps; Consumer Protection; Shortages; Rationing

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2. Value of "Availability" during Demand Shocks: Evidence from U.S. Retailers during the COVID-19 Pandemic​

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Abstract: This article studies the role of large retailers in ensuring product access during demand shocks. Focusing on U.S. consumers shopping for personal cleaning products during the COVID-19 pandemic, I quantify the consumer value of different store types at selected points in time. Because stockouts are not directly observed, I develop an algorithm to infer store-level stockouts from sales data. High-Availability Retailers—such as discount stores and warehouse clubs—consistently held greater inventories and had lower stockout rates. Their uneven distribution across markets contributed to inequality in product access, with shoppers in “availability deserts” (markets without HAR stores) generally experiencing lower welfare. Link to the paper

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Keywords: Cost of Stockouts; Product Availability; Retail Chains; Availability Deserts
   

 

​​​3. Inventory Acquisition and Distribution by Retail Chains During Times of Shortages

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Abstract: Economists have documented the heterogeneity in product availability across retail chains during shortages, yet its underlying causes remain underexplored. Does this disparity stem from high-availability retailers (HARs) having superior logistics that facilitate more efficient distribution to stores, or from their greater bargaining power in acquiring supplies from manufacturers? This paper examines the inventory procurement and distribution behaviors of major retail chains during demand shocks. Since retailers’ distribution behavior is not directly observable from data, I quantify the extent of product stockouts using sales data, then infer retailers’ distribution strategy from the stockout patterns. Empirical evidence shows that, holding total inventory fixed, HARs such as discount stores exhibit lower stockout rates and small variations across stores, suggesting more efficient logistics in inventory distribution. HARs also procure a wider variety and larger quantities of products from upstream suppliers, ensuring more abundant product offerings during crises. However, regression results show no significant evidence that retailers adjusted their offerings in response to the size of the demand shock. Instead, the observed gaps between HARs and other retailers were primarily driven by disparities in inventory levels and product variety that predated the shock.​ Paper available upon request.​​

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4. (Pre-PhD Work) Does Collusion among Full-service Airlines Affect the Entry Decision of Low-cost Carriers?

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Abstract:  This paper studies whether the anti-competitive behavior of incumbent full-service airlines (code-sharing, joining alliances, and merging) affects the entry decision of low-cost carriers. I apply the idea of entry threshold ratio in Bresnahan and Reiss (1991) to analyze the competitiveness of U.S. aviation market, as well as whether new entrants face high entry barriers. I tailor the model in Mazzeo (2002) to examine the effects of product differentiation and incumbent collusion on heterogeneous airlines’ profitability and market structure. The results indicate that incumbent collusion reduces the odds of airline entry. The U.S. air market is not perfectly competitive, and newcomers face high entry barriers. Baseline preference for full-service airlines is high in all markets, and outweighs the effect of demand conditions. Link to the paper