I study the impact of the 2018 U.S. steel tariffs on bidding in highway procurement auctions. The requirement to use domestically produced steel did not insulate procurement spending from the effects of tariffs in import-reliant coastal states. I find that bids on steel inputs saw a significant increase in these states but were unaffected in the Midwest, where most domestic steel is produced. Using a structural model of bidding and entry, I show that bidders in California faced higher costs but also earned higher markups as fewer bidders participated in steel-intensive projects. I estimate that California incurred an additional $100 million (a 6.8% increase) to construct highway projects, with one-third of the increase driven by the decline in competition. These effects are absent in Michigan.

We study the strategic procurement of prescription opioids by retail pharmacies during the prescription opioid epidemic in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) relies on drug distributors to monitor their pharmacy customers for suspicious purchasing behavior in order to prevent the diversion of opioids to illicit users. Using a theoretical model of pharmacy procurement, we formalize a key flaw in relying on distributors to monitor for diversion: distributors cannot perfectly observe pharmacies' purchases from rival distributors. This incentivizes pharmacies engaged in diversion to select into contracts with multiple distributors, which allows them to spread out their total demand over smaller orders that are less likely to be flagged as suspicious. We test the predictions of our model using administrative data from the Drug Enforcement Administration on shipments of opioids from distributors to pharmacies. We leverage the introduction of an abuse-deterrent reformulation of OxyContin to identify pharmacies involved in opioid diversion and to measure the magnitude of each pharmacy's illicit demand. Illicit OxyContin demand is highly predictive of distributor ``multi-homing'': pharmacies in the top decile of illicit OxyContin demand were 61% more likely to purchase from multiple distributors than pharmacies in the bottom decile. We estimate that nearly half of the OxyContin procured by multi-homing pharmacies during the first wave of the opioid crisis was diverted to illicit users. Our findings highlight the risks of relying on suppliers to monitor for illicit behavior in the presence of strategic customers and competing suppliers.

As countries increasingly adopt protectionist trade measures in response to broader geopolitical tensions, domestic firms are likely to gain from the reduction in foreign competition. Will this reduction in competition lead to higher prices? Or will the ability to serve a larger segment of the domestic market allow domestic firms to reap economies of scale? Will antitrust enforcement have to become stricter in response to the reduction in foreign competition?  I plan on studying these questions in the context of the U.S. steel industry. The industry is heavily shielded from foreign competition with tariffs on imported steel currently at 50% and has also seen several large mergers and acquisitions. While the reduction in foreign competition is likely to lead to higher prices for downstream consumers, this is also an industry where scale economies are prevalent. Antitrust policy will play a crucial role in ensuring that firms expand capacity not through anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, but rather through investments that can drive productivity improvements. Using the U.S. steel industry as a case study, I aim to examine how trade policy interacts with market structure and firm behavior, and the implications for consumers and antitrust policy. 

We examine how the shift of streaming platforms to an advertiser-supported revenue model affects their content offerings and consumers. This shift forces platforms to adjust their content strategies, though the direction is unclear. Platforms may aim to increase ad impressions by offering content that appeals to a broad audience, thereby driving up viewership. Alternatively, they may seek to increase the value of impressions by targeting niche audiences, who are typically more valuable to advertisers. These changes also impact consumers: while they generally dislike ads, consumers might benefit from adjusted content offerings if aligning with their preferences. We plan to answer this question using data on content offerings of platforms and consumer viewership.