| Summary: | The first chapter studies heterogeneity in rates of college noncompletion in the United States. College noncompletion rates exhibit considerable heterogeneity along the lines of student ability and family resources. I study the origins of this heterogeneity in college noncompletion risk and its implications for productivity and the distribution of human capital. In general, we should expect noncompletion rates to rise as education subsidies become more generous. This occurs because 1) as subsidies become more generous, the average ability of enrollees falls, and 2) resulting lower skill premia drive noncompletion decisions by marginal students. Policy experiments show that although subsidy expansion increases human capital attainment, it is dominated by a merit-based subsidy. My findings suggest that the ``crisis'' of college noncompletion could be addressed with policies that affect students' work-study decisions. The second chapter studies the contribution of housing to the evolution of wealth and inequality in Canada during the recent housing boom. Combining data on household assets and quality-adjusted house prices with a portfolio share model, we estimate housing demand, mortgage demand and net worth in the absence of a housing boom. Increased wealth from the housing boom for low-earning and young households has been driven by an increase in the quantity of housing they own, whereas appreciation has been more important for older, affluent households. These effects vary considerably across cities. We also find that the housing boom in Canada has mitigated both wealth inequality and inequality of owner-occupied housing between high and low income households, as well as young, middle-aged, and older households. The third chapter studies the comparative development of settlements in Newfoundland, Canada after the incorporation of local governments, beginning in the 1950s. Earlier settlements, from the period of Admiralty Rule, were established with essentially no state, whereas later settlements, from the ...
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