Derek
G. Stacey
Ph.D. Candidate in
Economics
Expected Completion Date: June 2012
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Department of Economics
Queen's University
94 University Avenue
Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6
Office: +1-(613)-533-6000 x77149
Mobile: +1-(613)-328-2602
Fax:
+1-(613)-533-6668
Email:
staceyd at econ.queensu.ca
Curriculum
Vitae
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Fields:
Macroeconomics, Applied Theory, Land and Housing, Development
Research:
“Information, Commitment, and Separation in Illiquid Housing Markets,”
(Job Market Paper)
Link to Paper
I propose a model of the housing market using a search framework with asymmetric information in which sellers are unable to commit to asking prices announced ex ante. Relaxing the commitment assumption prevents sellers from using price posting as a signalling device to direct buyers' search. Adverse selection and inefficient entry on the demand side then contribute to housing market illiquidity. Real estate agents that can improve the expected quality of a match can segment the market and alleviate information frictions. Even if one endorses the view that real estate agents provide no technological advantage in the matching process, incentive compatible listing contracts are implementable as long as housing is not already sufficiently liquid. The theoretical implications are qualitatively consistent with the observed trends in real estate brokerage: platform differentiation, endogenous sorting, and listing contract features that reinforce incentive compatibility.
“Tenure Insecurity, Adverse Selection, and Liquidity in Rural Land Markets,”
Link to Paper
A theory of land market activity is developed for settings where there is uncertainty and private information about the security of land tenure. Land sellers match with buyers in a competitive search environment, and an illiquid land market emerges as a screening mechanism. As a consequence, adverse selection and an insecure system of property rights stifle land market transactions. The implications of the theory are tested using household level data from Indonesia. As predicted, formally titled land is more liquid than untitled land in the sense that ownership rights are more readily transferable. Additional implications of the theory are verified empirically by constructing a proxy variable for land tenure security and studying the differences between markets for unregistered land across Indonesian provinces. Regional land market activity is appropriately linked to the distribution of the proxy variable.
“From Engineer to Taxi Driver? Occupational Skills and the Economic Outcomes of Immigrants,” with Susumu Imai and Casey Warman
(under review)
Link to Paper
We examine the ability of male immigrants to transfer their occupational human capital using information from the O*NET and a unique dataset that includes both the last source country occupation and the first four years of occupations in Canada. We first augment a model of occupational choice and skill accumulation to derive predictions about the cross-border transferability of occupational human capital. We then test the empirical implications using the skill requirements of pre- and post-immigration occupations. We find that male immigrants to Canada were employed in source country occupations that required high levels of cognitive skills, but relied less intently on manual skills. Following immigration, they find initial employment in occupations that require the opposite. Regression analysis uncovers large returns to the quantitative skill requirements of Canadian occupations, but no returns to source country skill requirements. Finally, our empirical findings reveal that occupational skill gaps are detrimental to immigrants' earnings.
References:
Professor Allen Head: heada at econ.queensu.ca
Professor Huw Lloyd-Ellis: lloydell at econ.queensu.ca
Professor Amy Hongfei Sun: hfsun at econ.queensu.ca
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