"Benefit-Based Taxation can be Redistributive" with Matthew Weinzierl
"Big Names, Bigger Barriers: Firm Reputation and its Role as a Barrier to Entry"
Undergraduate Senior Thesis (Hoopes Prize Winner)
I investigate the potential for barriers to entry for new firms and an implicit tuition in worker wages stemming from incumbent reputation. I introduce two models of worker preferences within a framework of matching with externalities and show that when workers make employment decisions based on firm prestige, we expect to see more concentrated markets and barriers to entry for new firms. Stylized facts from a unique dataset on hiring in large law firms present preliminary empirical evidence supporting the model, indicating that workers in a low-entry industry do have a preference for reputation and prestige in their employers.