Traffic Safety and Vehicle Choice: Quantifying the Effects of the "Arms Race" on American Roads

The increasing market share of light trucks in the U.S. in recent years has been characterized as an “arms race” where individual purchase of light trucks for better self-protection in collisions nevertheless leads to worse traffic safety for the society. This paper investigates the interrelation between traffic safety and vehicle choice by quantifying the effects of the arms race on vehicle demand, producer performance, and traffic safety. The empirical analysis shows that the accident externality of a light truck amounts to $2,444 in 2006 dollars during vehicle lifetime. Counterfactual simulations suggest that about 12 percent of new light trucks sold in 2006 and 204 traffic fatalities could be attributed to the arms race.accident externality, automobile demand, random coefficient demand model

Lose Some, Save Some: Obesity, Automobile Demand, and Gasoline Consumption in the U.S.

This paper examines the unexplored link between the prevalence of overweight and obesity and vehicle demand in the United States. Exploring annual sales data of new passenger vehicles at the model level in 48 U.S. counties from 1999 to 2005, we find that a 10 percentage point increase in the rate of overweight and obesity reduces the average MPG of new vehicles demanded by 2.5 percent: an effect that requires a 30 cent increase in gasoline prices to counteract. Our findings suggest that policies to reduce overweight and obesity can have additional benefits for energy security and the environment.

How important are peer effects in group lending?: Estimating a static game of incomplete information

group lending, Microfinance, peer effects, repayment, group heterogeneity, peer pressure,

Is There an Energy Paradox in Fuel Economy? A Note on the Role of Consumer Heterogeneity and Sorting Bias

Previous literature finds that consumers tend to undervalue discounted future energy costs in their purchase decisions for energy-using durables. We argue that this finding could result from ignoring consumer heterogeneity in empirical analyses as opposed to true undervaluation. In the context of automobile demand, we show that, if not accounted for, consumer heterogeneity could lead to sorting, which in turn biases toward zero the estimate of marginal willingness to pay for discounted future fuel costs.energy paradox, fuel economy, consumer heterogeneity

Cost-Effectiveness of Electricity Energy Efficiency Programs

We analyze the cost-effectiveness of electric utility ratepayer-funded programs to promote demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) investments. We specify a model that relates electricity demand to previous EE DSM spending, energy prices, income, weather, and other demand factors. In contrast to previous studies, we allow EE DSM spending to have a potential long-term demand effect and explicitly address possible endogeneity in spending. We find that current period EE DSM expenditures reduce electricity demand and that this effect persists for a number of years. Our findings suggest that ratepayer-funded DSM expenditures between 1992 and 2006 produced a central estimate of 0.9 percent savings in electricity consumption over that time period and 1.8 percent savings over all years. These energy savings came at an expected average cost to utilities of roughly 5 cents per kWh saved when future savings are discounted at a 5 percent rate.energy efficiency, demand-side management, electricity demand

Cost-Effectiveness of Electricity Energy Efficiency Programs

We analyze the cost-effectiveness of electric utility ratepayer–funded programs to promote demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) investments. We specify a model that relates electricity demand to previous EE DSM spending, energy prices, income, weather, and other demand factors. In contrast to previous studies, we allow EE DSM spending to have a potential long-term demand effect and explicitly address possible endogeneity in spending. We find that current period EE DSM expenditures reduce electricity demand and that this effect persists for a number of years. Our findings suggest that ratepayer funded DSM expenditures between 1992 and 2006 produced a central estimate of 0.9 percent savings in electricity consumption over that time period and a 1.8 percent savings over all years. These energy savings came at an expected average cost to utilities of roughly 5 cents per kWh saved when future savings are discounted at a 5 percent rate.

How Do Gasoline Prices Affect Fleet Fuel Economy?

Exploiting a rich data set of passenger vehicle registrations in twenty U.S. metropolitan statistical areas from 1997 to 2005, we examine the effects of gasoline prices on the automotive fleet's composition. We find that high gasoline prices affect fleet fuel economy through two channels: (1) shifting new auto purchases towards more fuel-efficient vehicles, and (2) speeding the scrappage of older, less fuel-efficient used vehicles. Policy simulations based on our econometric estimates suggest that a 10% increase in gasoline prices from 2005 levels will generate a 0.22% increase in fleet fuel economy in the short run and a 2.04% increase in the long run.

Down-regulation of NRIP1 alleviates pyroptosis in human lens epithelial cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide by inhibiting NF-κB activation

Purpose: To investigate the role of nuclear receptor-interacting protein 1 (NRIP1) in oxidative stressinduced apoptosis and pyroptosis in cataract disease.Methods: Human lens epithelial cells (HLE-B3 cells) were exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). NRIP1 expression in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-treated HLE-B3 cells was determined by western blotting and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). CCK8 and EdU staining were used to assess cell viability. Flow cytometry and western blotting were used to assess pyroptosis.Results: NRIP1 was significantly up-regulated in HLE-B3 cells post-H2O2 incubation (p < 0.01). Hydrogen peroxide incubation reduced cell viability and proliferation of HLE-B3 cells, while NRIP1 knockdown enhanced cell viability and proliferation. NRIP1 silencing attenuated the H2O2-induced increase in NLRP3, N-terminal domain of gasdermin D, caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-18 in HLEB3 cells, but suppressed the pyroptosis of H2O2-treated HLE-B3 cells. Hydrogen peroxide incubation down-regulated protein expression of cytoplasmic NF-κB and up-regulated nuclear NF-κB, while the expression of cytoplasmic NF-κB was increased and nuclear NF-κB was decreased in HLE-B3 cells by HLE-B3 interference.Conclusion: NRIP1 down-regulation represses apoptosis and pyroptosis of H2O2-treated human lens epithelial cells by inhibiting NF-κB activation, thus, providing a potential strategy to treat cataract disease