Three Essays in Economics

Vergili, Ali Yasin

Three Essays in Economics

Vergili, Ali Yasin

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2024

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Vergili, Ali Yasin
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-22T01:23:48Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-22T01:23:48Z
dc.date.issued	2024
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/178157
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Business.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	This doctoral dissertation comprises three essays, two in development economics and one in empirical auctions, all interconnected by the theme of individual decision-making. Chapter 2 delves into the impact of Nigeria’s 2003 Child Rights Act (CRA), designed to prohibit marriages below the age of 18 at the federal level. However, conflicts within the Nigerian constitution and partial adoption by states with Islamic legal systems have hindered its full implementation. Using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the study analyzes the staggered reform implementation, revealing an unexpected outcome: the CRA has led to earlier marriages for girls, especially in Muslim-majority areas. This underscores the importance of considering local cultural and religious norms and highlights treatment heterogeneity, exposing biases in standard methods. The study enhances our understanding of legal reforms addressing child marriage. Chapter 3 explores the connection between infant mortality expectations and fertility decisions, utilizing unique data from Malawi. Population research has long scrutinized the relationship between child mortality and fertility, emphasizing replacement (fertility response to experienced child mortality) and hoarding (fertility response to expected child mortality) behaviors. Using individual-specific subjective infant mortality expectations drawn from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH), we employ instrumental variables to address potential endogeneity issues, including the average of parents’ ratings of children’s health to account for omitted variable bias such as parental preferences for healthy offspring. In line with the hoarding mechanism, we observe a substantial 14 percentage point reduction in the propensity to have a child within the next two years following a 10 percentage point decrease in infant mortality expectations, compared to a baseline propensity of 43%. Chapter 4 explores price dynamics in sequential Dutch auctions at the Sydney Fish Market. While theoretical models suggest martingale prices, empirical data often reveals variations. Analyzing a comprehensive dataset spanning 27 years, this study identifies non-monotonic price trends and differences in bidding patterns based on bidders’ experience levels. The findings underscore the role of signaling, learning, and bidder heterogeneity in shaping the market environment. In conclusion, this dissertation offers valuable insights into the consequences of legal reforms, fertility decision-making processes, and the dynamics of auction markets. It contributes to our understanding of these complex economic phenomena and their implications for policy and practice.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/178157/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2024 Ali Yasin Vergili
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Three Essays in Economics	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

This doctoral dissertation comprises three essays, two in development economics and one in empirical auctions, all interconnected by the theme of individual decision-making. Chapter 2 delves into the impact of Nigeria’s 2003 Child Rights Act (CRA), designed to prohibit marriages below the age of 18 at the federal level. However, conflicts within the Nigerian constitution and partial adoption by states with Islamic legal systems have hindered its full implementation. Using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the study analyzes the staggered reform implementation, revealing an unexpected outcome: the CRA has led to earlier marriages for girls, especially in Muslim-majority areas. This underscores the importance of considering local cultural and religious norms and highlights treatment heterogeneity, exposing biases in standard methods. The study enhances our understanding of legal reforms addressing child marriage. Chapter 3 explores the connection between infant mortality expectations and fertility decisions, utilizing unique data from Malawi. Population research has long scrutinized the relationship between child mortality and fertility, emphasizing replacement (fertility response to experienced child mortality) and hoarding (fertility response to expected child mortality) behaviors. Using individual-specific subjective infant mortality expectations drawn from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH), we employ instrumental variables to address potential endogeneity issues, including the average of parents’ ratings of children’s health to account for omitted variable bias such as parental preferences for healthy offspring. In line with the hoarding mechanism, we observe a substantial 14 percentage point reduction in the propensity to have a child within the next two years following a 10 percentage point decrease in infant mortality expectations, compared to a baseline propensity of 43%. Chapter 4 explores price dynamics in sequential Dutch auctions at the Sydney Fish Market. While theoretical models suggest martingale prices, empirical data often reveals variations. Analyzing a comprehensive dataset spanning 27 years, this study identifies non-monotonic price trends and differences in bidding patterns based on bidders’ experience levels. The findings underscore the role of signaling, learning, and bidder heterogeneity in shaping the market environment. In conclusion, this dissertation offers valuable insights into the consequences of legal reforms, fertility decision-making processes, and the dynamics of auction markets. It contributes to our understanding of these complex economic phenomena and their implications for policy and practice.

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