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SUMMARY:Seminar by Prof. Abhishek Nagaraj\, UC Berkeley
DTSTART:20190910T120000
DTEND:20190910T133000
DTSTAMP:20260510T091653Z
UID:3a6d35479a2b998ae495417d446f39898e85699a426f2403049b9dc7
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Abhishek Nagaraj\, UC Berkeley\n"The Private Impact of P
 ublic Information: Landsat Satellite Maps and Gold Exploration"\n\nAbstrac
 t\nThe public sector provides many types of information\, such as geograph
 ic and census maps\, that firms use when making decisions. However\, the e
 conomic implications of such information infrastructure remain unexamined.
  This study estimates the impact of information from Landsat\, a NASA sate
 llite mapping program\, on the discovery of new deposits by large and smal
 l firms in the gold exploration industry. Using a simple theoretical frame
 work\, I argue that public sector information guides firms on the viabilit
 y of risky projects and increases the likelihood of project success. This 
 effect is especially relevant for smaller firms\, who face higher project 
 costs and are particularly deterred from engaging in risky projects. I tes
 t the predictions of this framework by exploiting idiosyncratic timing var
 iation in Landsat coverage across regions. Landsat maps nearly doubled the
  rate of significant gold discoveries after a region was mapped and increa
 sed the market share of smaller\, junior firms from about 10% to 25%. Publ
 ic information infrastructure\, including mapping efforts\, seem to be an 
 important\, yet overlooked\, driver of private-sector productivity and sma
 ll business performance.\n 
LOCATION:ODY 4 03 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==ODY%204%2003
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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