Lucas W Davis
Biographic Data
| ID | 1455481 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lucas W Davis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Lucas W |
| FAMILY NAME | Davis |
| SIGNATURE | DAVIS L W |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Berkeley |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6801-9387 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 67 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Uber and Traffic Fatalities
Previous studies of the effect of ridesharing on traffic fatalities have yielded inconsistent conclusions. We revisit this question using proprietary data from Uber measuring monthly rideshare activity at the Census tract level. We find a consistent negative effect of ridesharing on traffic fatalities, with impacts concentrated during nights and weekends. Our results imply that ridesharing has decreased U.S. traffic fatalities by 5.2% in areas wh…
What Matters for Electrification? Evidence from 70 Years of U.S. Home Heating Choices
The percentage of U.S. homes heated with electricity has increased steadily from 1% in 1950 to 40% in 2020. Energy prices, geography, climate, housing characteristics, and income are shown to explain 90% of the increase, with energy prices by far the most important factor. The paper then estimates the cost of an electrification mandate for new homes. Households in warm states tend to prefer electricity anyway, so would be made worse off by less t…
Transmission Impossible? Prospects for Decarbonizing the US Grid
Encouraged by the declining cost of grid-scale renewables, recent analyses conclude that the United States could reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 at relatively low cost using currently available technologies. While the cost of renewable generation has declined dramatically, integrating these renewables would require a large expansion in transmission to deliver that power. Already there is growing evidence that the United States has…
Air conditioning and global inequality
As global temperatures go up and incomes rise, air conditioner sales are poised to increase dramatically. Recent studies explore the potential economic and environmental impacts of this growth, but relatively little attention has been paid to the implications for inequality. In this paper we use household-level microdata from 16 countries to characterize empirically the relationship between climate, income, and residential air conditioning. We sh…
Heat exposure and global air conditioning
How effective is energy-efficient housing? Evidence from a field trial in Mexico
Contribution of air conditioning adoption to future energy use under global warming
Significance The use of air conditioning is poised to increase dramatically over the next several decades as global temperatures go up and incomes rise around the world. In this paper, we use high-quality microdata from Mexico to characterize empirically the relationship between temperature, income, and air conditioning. We describe both how electricity consumption increases with temperature given current levels of air conditioning, and how clima…
Environmental Health Risks and Housing Values: Evidence from 1,600 Toxic Plant Openings and Closings
Regulatory oversight of toxic emissions from industrial plants and understanding about these emissions' impacts are in their infancy. Applying a research design based on the openings and closings of 1,600 industrial plants to rich data on housing markets and infant health, we find that: toxic air emissions affect air quality only within 1 mile of the plant; plant openings lead to 11 percent declines in housing values within 0.5 mile or a loss of …
Prospects for Nuclear Power
Nuclear power has long been controversial because of concerns about nuclear accidents, storage of spent fuel, and how the spread of nuclear power might raise risks of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These concerns are real and important. However, emphasizing these concerns implicitly suggests that unless these issues are taken into account, nuclear power would otherwise be cost effective compared to other forms of electricity generation. Th…
The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents
This paper uses restricted census microdata to examine housing values and rents for neighborhoods in the United States where power plants were opened during the 1990s. Compared to neighborhoods with similar housing and demographic characteristics, neighborhoods within 2 miles of plants experienced 3%–7% decreases in housing values and rents, with some evidence of larger decreases within 1 mile and for large-capacity plants. In addition, there is …
The Allocative Cost of Price Ceilings in the U.S. Residential Market for Natural Gas
A direct consequence of imposing a ceiling on the price of a good for which secondary markets do not exist, is that, when there is excess demand, the good will not be allocated to the buyers who value it the most. The resulting allocative cost has been discussed in the literature as a potentially important component of the total welfare loss from price ceilings, but its practical importance has yet to be established empirically. In this paper, we…
The welfare costs of unreliable water service
The Effect of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Mexico City
In 1989, the government of Mexico City introduced a program, Hoy No Circula, that bans most drivers from using their vehicles one weekday per week on the basis of the last digit of the vehicle's license plate. This article measures the effect of the driving restrictions on air quality using high-frequency measures from monitoring stations. Across pollutants and specifications there is no evidence that the restrictions have improved air quality. E…
The Effect of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Mexico City
In 1989, the government of Mexico City introduced a program, Hoy No Circula, that bans most drivers from using their vehicles one weekday per week on the basis of the last digit of the vehicle's license plate. This article measures the effect of the driving restrictions on air quality using high-frequency measures from monitoring stations. Across pollutants and specifications there is no evidence that the restrictions have improved air quality. E…
Air conditioning and global inequality
As global temperatures go up and incomes rise, air conditioner sales are poised to increase dramatically. Recent studies explore the potential economic and environmental impacts of this growth, but relatively little attention has been paid to the implications for inequality. In this paper we use household-level microdata from 16 countries to characterize empirically the relationship between climate, income, and residential air conditioning. We sh…
The Allocative Cost of Price Ceilings in the U.S. Residential Market for Natural Gas
A direct consequence of imposing a ceiling on the price of a good for which secondary markets do not exist, is that, when there is excess demand, the good will not be allocated to the buyers who value it the most. The resulting allocative cost has been discussed in the literature as a potentially important component of the total welfare loss from price ceilings, but its practical importance has yet to be established empirically. In this paper, we…
Prospects for Nuclear Power
Nuclear power has long been controversial because of concerns about nuclear accidents, storage of spent fuel, and how the spread of nuclear power might raise risks of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These concerns are real and important. However, emphasizing these concerns implicitly suggests that unless these issues are taken into account, nuclear power would otherwise be cost effective compared to other forms of electricity generation. Th…
Heat exposure and global air conditioning
How effective is energy-efficient housing? Evidence from a field trial in Mexico
The welfare costs of unreliable water service
The welfare costs of unreliable water service
The Effect of Driving Restrictions on Air Quality in Mexico City
In 1989, the government of Mexico City introduced a program, Hoy No Circula, that bans most drivers from using their vehicles one weekday per week on the basis of the last digit of the vehicle's license plate. This article measures the effect of the driving restrictions on air quality using high-frequency measures from monitoring stations. Across pollutants and specifications there is no evidence that the restrictions have improved air quality. E…
The Effect of Power Plants on Local Housing Values and Rents
This paper uses restricted census microdata to examine housing values and rents for neighborhoods in the United States where power plants were opened during the 1990s. Compared to neighborhoods with similar housing and demographic characteristics, neighborhoods within 2 miles of plants experienced 3%–7% decreases in housing values and rents, with some evidence of larger decreases within 1 mile and for large-capacity plants. In addition, there is …
The Allocative Cost of Price Ceilings in the U.S. Residential Market for Natural Gas
A direct consequence of imposing a ceiling on the price of a good for which secondary markets do not exist, is that, when there is excess demand, the good will not be allocated to the buyers who value it the most. The resulting allocative cost has been discussed in the literature as a potentially important component of the total welfare loss from price ceilings, but its practical importance has yet to be established empirically. In this paper, we…
Prospects for Nuclear Power
Nuclear power has long been controversial because of concerns about nuclear accidents, storage of spent fuel, and how the spread of nuclear power might raise risks of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These concerns are real and important. However, emphasizing these concerns implicitly suggests that unless these issues are taken into account, nuclear power would otherwise be cost effective compared to other forms of electricity generation. Th…
Contribution of air conditioning adoption to future energy use under global warming
Significance The use of air conditioning is poised to increase dramatically over the next several decades as global temperatures go up and incomes rise around the world. In this paper, we use high-quality microdata from Mexico to characterize empirically the relationship between temperature, income, and air conditioning. We describe both how electricity consumption increases with temperature given current levels of air conditioning, and how clima…
Environmental Health Risks and Housing Values: Evidence from 1,600 Toxic Plant Openings and Closings
Regulatory oversight of toxic emissions from industrial plants and understanding about these emissions' impacts are in their infancy. Applying a research design based on the openings and closings of 1,600 industrial plants to rich data on housing markets and infant health, we find that: toxic air emissions affect air quality only within 1 mile of the plant; plant openings lead to 11 percent declines in housing values within 0.5 mile or a loss of …
Heat exposure and global air conditioning
How effective is energy-efficient housing? Evidence from a field trial in Mexico
Air conditioning and global inequality
As global temperatures go up and incomes rise, air conditioner sales are poised to increase dramatically. Recent studies explore the potential economic and environmental impacts of this growth, but relatively little attention has been paid to the implications for inequality. In this paper we use household-level microdata from 16 countries to characterize empirically the relationship between climate, income, and residential air conditioning. We sh…
Transmission Impossible? Prospects for Decarbonizing the US Grid
Encouraged by the declining cost of grid-scale renewables, recent analyses conclude that the United States could reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 at relatively low cost using currently available technologies. While the cost of renewable generation has declined dramatically, integrating these renewables would require a large expansion in transmission to deliver that power. Already there is growing evidence that the United States has…
What Matters for Electrification? Evidence from 70 Years of U.S. Home Heating Choices
The percentage of U.S. homes heated with electricity has increased steadily from 1% in 1950 to 40% in 2020. Energy prices, geography, climate, housing characteristics, and income are shown to explain 90% of the increase, with energy prices by far the most important factor. The paper then estimates the cost of an electrification mandate for new homes. Households in warm states tend to prefer electricity anyway, so would be made worse off by less t…
Uber and Traffic Fatalities
Previous studies of the effect of ridesharing on traffic fatalities have yielded inconsistent conclusions. We revisit this question using proprietary data from Uber measuring monthly rideshare activity at the Census tract level. We find a consistent negative effect of ridesharing on traffic fatalities, with impacts concentrated during nights and weekends. Our results imply that ridesharing has decreased U.S. traffic fatalities by 5.2% in areas wh…
Economics (11 works) · Engineering (8 works) · Geography (8 works) · Business (7 works) · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies (6 works) · Environmental Science (6 works) · Meteorology (5 works) · Natural resource economics (5 works) · Agricultural economics (4 works) · Climate Change Policy and Economics (4 works)