Muhammad Shayan's Qualifying Exam

Muhammad Shayan will stand for the Qualifying Examination for acceptance into candidacy for the Ph.D. degree on November 19 at 1:30 PM in Sage 41c and via Zoom. All faculty (only faculty) are welcome and invited to attend. Copies of Shayan’s dissertation prospectus and qualifying exam questions and answers can be obtained from the Doctoral Program Office (contact: elisabeth.barsa@yale.edu). Committee members: • Prof. Narasimha Rao (Chair) • Prof. Ken Gillingham • Prof. Morgan Edwards (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Question 1. Conceptual interpretation of the choice model You propose a complex nested logit model to learn how households in rural Pakistan choose different stacks of electricity supply to meet their electricity demand. This is new application of conventional discrete-choice energy demand theory, which often explains appliance acquisition. Discuss critically the application of the choice model you use to make your case from a conceptual standpoint, in terms of how it describes the implicit decision-making process. Your critical discussion should include the following: Its use to explain electricity supply options instead of electricity consuming options. Whether conditions unique to Pakistan fundamentally alter the decision process or just add new factors to a universally applicable theory. In other words, how generalizable is your framework? Alternative theories of decision-making in psychology and sociology that address non-economic decision factors (such as values) and social norms that drive household behavior. State how these theories may or may not be incorporated into your model. Question 2. Appliance acquisition and social welfare In Paper 2, you examine how acquisition of electric supply from off-grid photovoltaics may induce appliance acquisition, and how it would contribute to household welfare. You mention that this analysis can contribute to energy demand forecasting. How would you characterize (formally, if you can) social welfare from this phenomenon? What would be the policy levers that would influence the extent of appliance acquisition, and how would you represent them in your modeling? You can make simplifying assumptions about the surrounding socioeconomic conditions staying constant.