Dissertation Defense Schedule
Academic Excellence
Sharing original dissertation research is a principle to which the University of Delaware is deeply committed. It is the single most important assignment our graduate students undertake and upon completion is met with great pride.
We invite you to celebrate this milestone by attending their dissertation defense. Please review the upcoming dissertation defense schedule below and join us!
PROGRAM | Economics
The Effect of American Industry Deregulation on Firm Innovation Behaviors: A Difference In Differences Approach
By: Cong Gao Chair: William Latham
ABSTRACT
I exploit American economic deregulation in the entertainment, petroleum and natural gas, utilities, telecommunications and transportation industries to examine how the innovation activities of firms in these five industries changed following deregulation. By using a difference-in-differences method and using number of patents filed by firms through 1967-2004 as a proxy for innovation behavior, I find evidence that, in aggregate, following deregulation, the number of patents filed by firms in the five deregulated industries examined decline from 13.3% to17.3% in the subsequent one to five years after deregulation. Deregulation solely led to a 19.4% decline in innovation behavior, while the net increasing competition decreased innovation by 4.5%. Therefore, the results of this paper enrich current economic and corporate finance literatures by providing evidence of the effects of economic deregulation and show that economic deregulation has a negative effect on innovation activities of firms in the five deregulated industries. A further industry-by-industry analysis finds that, following deregulation, the innovation activity pattern of the petroleum and natural gas industries is different from the activity pattern of other four industries. This result sheds light on the real effects of economic deregulation 40 years after the deregulation process began.
The Process
Step-by-Step
Visit our “Step-by-Step Graduation Guide” to take you through the graduation process.From formatting your Dissertation to Doctoral Hooding procedures.
Dissertation Manual
Wondering how to set up the format for your paper. Refer to the “UD Thesis/Dissertation Manual” for formatting requirements and more.
Defense Submission Form
This form must be completed two weeks in advance of a dissertation defense to meet the University of Delaware Graduate and Professional Education’s requirements.
