Thesis in urban economics

This thesis explores three research questions in urban economics related to population distribution, housing market, and local business composition.
In the second chapter, I estimate how the population is distributed within cities and how this distribution varies with distance to the centre. Using township-level data in China from 2000 to 2020, I construct two indicators, population density and the population-land Gini coefficient, and find that (i) population density decreases monotonically with distance, with overall elasticity of approximately -0.59, and (ii) the Gini coefficient increases with distance and exhibits city heterogeneity. Based on these facts, I construct a monocentric equilibrium model that derives closed-form expressions for the density gradient and Gini coefficient.
In the third chapter, I explore how the hedonic valuation of neighbourhood amenities and characteristics changed after the COVID-19 pandemic in Greater London and seven other major UK cities. Using housing transaction data from 2017 to 2023, I find a persistent flattening of the CBD-distance price gradient, a 7.7% decrease in Greater London and a 9.6% decrease in UK major cities. The hedonic price model shows that demand shifted towards larger homes, with premiums increasing for terraced, detached, and semi-detached houses, while falling for flats.
In the fourth chapter, I assess the causal impact of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) on local businesses in Greater London from 2014 to 2025. Using a panel data set of Point of Interest (POI), I adopt propensity score matching and staggered difference-in-differences methods to estimate the average treatment effect of BIDs establishment on the numbers of businesses and exits. I find that the introduction of BIDs promotes catering with 0.134 log points, especially pubs with a 0.102 log points, while shrinking traditional department stores and beauty service businesses with 0.073 and 0.145 log points correspondingly. Event study analysis shows an increase in the number of exits for pubs, while a decrease in the number of exits for beauty and retail.