Disruptive innovations change markets or create new markets that previously did not exist. These innovations often deprecate previous research, pushing researchers to update their models and understanding of how markets for new products and services will operate. Often times, new markets cause unintended consequences. This dissertation is a study of those consequences in three markets that stem from disruptive innovation: residential rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, ridesharing via transportation network companies, and battery-electric freight trucking.
In the first chapter--I present co-authored research with Jackson Dorsey on the discrepancies in consumer surplus and market access to residential rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across racial, ethnic and income groups on a leading online marketplace. Previous research documents lower levels of adoption among minority and low-income areas. We build on this research by showing that some of this difference is from difference in consumer willingness-to-pay across groups but a large amount comes from minorities and low-income consumers receiving less market access on this platform in terms of bids and prices.
In the second chapter, I present research on how the availability of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs)--like Uber and Lyft--in the United States affects the amount of alcohol consumption and fatal alcohol-related traffic accidents. In this paper, I make a methodological point that previous research on this topic is likely misidentified based on the wide use of TNC entry as the event-study horizon. I instead identify estimates using variation induced by abrupt and unexpected exit related to municipal bans of TNCs in the United States. Using a dataset of alcohol tax revenues in Texas for bars and restaurants, I show some evidence that alcohol consumption at these locations decreases as a result of TNC exit. Using nationwide data on fatal vehicle accidents, I estimate that TNCs lead to fewer alcohol-related traffic fatalities, but these results are statically imprecise.
In the third chapter, I present an analysis of the health and climate impacts of a complete transition from diesel to battery-electric freight trucking. I conducted this work as part of a team of research across UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) assembled by Maximilian Auffhammer of UC Berkeley and Corinne Scown of the LBNL Energy Technologies Area. The other team members included Fan Tong, a transportation researcher and post-doc at LBNL, and Alan Jenn, a professor at UC Davis at the Institute for Transportation Studies.
To borrow from our published abstract: We develop an integrated assessment approach with high spatial-temporal (km and hourly) resolution to characterize the causal chain from truck operation to charging loads, electricity grid response, changes in emissions and atmospheric concentrations, and the resulting health and climate impacts across the United States. Compared to future diesel trucks, electrified trucking’s net health benefits are concentrated only along the West Coast with a business-as-usual electricity grid. However, with an 80%-renewable electricity grid, most regions would experience net health benefits, and the economic value of avoided climate and health damages exceeds $5 billion annually, an 80% reduction relative to future diesel trucks. Electric trucks with larger batteries may increase health and climate impacts due to additional trips needed to compensate for the payload penalty, but a 2x improvement in the battery specific energy (to approximately 320 Wh/kg) could eliminate the additional trips.
As a dissertation, this collection of research represents a varied approach in terms of both methodology and topic to further our understanding about the market dynamics for new products and services.
