Essays in applied economics

Three independent studies in applied economics are presented. The first essay looks at the US natural gas industrial sector and estimates welfare effects associated with the changes in natural gas regulatory policy over the past three decades. Using a disequilibrium model suited to the natural gas industry, welfare transfers and deadweight losses are calculated. Results indicate that deregulation policies, beginning with the NGPA of 1978, have caused the industry to become more responsive to market conditions. Over time, regulated prices converge toward the estimated equilibrium prices. As a result of this convergence, deadweight losses associated with regulation are also diminished.; The second essay examines the discounted utility model (DU), the standard model used for intertemporal decision-making. Prior empirical studies challenge the descriptive validity of the model. This essay addresses the four main inconsistencies that have been raised: domain dependence, magnitude effects, time effects, and gain/loss asymmetries. These inconsistencies, however, may be the result of the implicit assumption of linear utility and not a failure of the DU model itself. In order to test this hypothesis, data was collected from in-class surveys of economics classes at Mississippi State University. A random effects model for panel data estimation which accounts for individual specific effects was then used to impute discount rates measured in terms of dollars and utility. All four inconsistencies were found to be present when the dollar measures were used. Using utility measures of the discount rate resolved the inconsistencies in some cases.; The third essay brings together two perspectives in the study of religion and economics: modeling religious behavior using economic tools and variables, and modeling economic behavior using religious variables. A system of ordered probit equations is developed to simultaneously model religious activities and economic outcomes. Using data from mail survey of a random sample of Mississippi households, simultaneous estimation offers evidence of a bicausal relationship between religious intensity and income. After controlling for demographic characteristics, religious intensity increases with income; low-income groups are less likely to be active in religious activities; and groups with low religious intensity are less likely to have high incomes.