Essays on the effects of government intervention in Texas' electricity market and the health insurance markets in Missouri and Oklahoma

This public economics dissertation examines the effects resulting from government intervention in the electricity and health insurance markets. The first chapter analyzes the impact on residential electricity prices by studying a once regulated market in which government regulators withdrew from in hopes of allowing a free and competitive market to flourish. The second chapter analyzes the resulting effects on employment and other forms of health insurance that occur when the government tightens the income limits to qualify for Medicaid. The third and final chapter studies employment, health insurance, health, and emergency room usage effects when the government gives subsidies to employers providing health insurance to their employees.