An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis of Nonlinear Public Policies.

Summary This thesis proposes empirical and theoretical methods for optimizing public policies and applies them to subsidies for renewable energy and infectious disease control measures. In particular, my thesis focuses on non-linear policies, which in many applications are more effective than linear policies. The main challenge in designing optimal nonlinear policies is how citizens respond to them. Theoretically, I address this question by characterizing these policies in terms of observable statistics. Empirically, I propose new quasi-experimental estimators that estimate citizens' reactions. The thesis is organized into three chapters.