Ph.D. Candidate in Economics
Aaron Morton
Aaron Morton is a Sixth-year Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at Syracuse University, specializing in Urban and Public Economics. His research delves into the interaction between urban economics and government policy, analyzing how local governments influence the choices of where to live and work.
Research
Job Market Paper
Zoning Reform and the Spatial Organization of Urban Activity
Author: Aaron Morton
Topic: This paper examines how zoning reform affects the spatial distribution of employment and commuting within cities. Using Buffalo's 2017 Green Code, I construct measures of changes in allowable development capacity to study how relaxing zoning constraints influences workplace employment and commuting patterns. Preliminary results suggest that upzoning is associated with increased workplace employment connections, particularly among workers commuting from other neighborhoods.
Work in Progress
The research listed here is in various stages of exploration and drafting and is still subject to change:
Firm Location Choices in Spatial Equilibrium
Authors: Aaron Morton
Topic: Using techniques common in Quantitative Spatial Modeling, a unique spatial equilibrium model is being developed that treats firms as discrete units with locations endogenously determined by competing firm locations and household shopping choices. To test this model, it is applied to grocery store locations to better understand the formation of food deserts.
Housing Space Constraints and Spatial Equilibrium
Authors: Aaron Morton
Topic: By developing a spatial equilibrium model, household housing size preferences and regulatory
housing space minimums are considered in how they restrict household choices and location choice
affordability.
Areas of Interest
Urban Economics, Public Economics, Quantitative Spatial Modeling, Discrete Choice
Teaching
Lecturer
ECN 203: Economic Ideas and Issues Summer 2024, Summer 2025
Teaching Assistant
ECN 102: Introductory Macroeconomics Fall 2022 - Michael Lorenzo
ECN 102: Introductory Macroeconomics Spring 2023 - Michael Lorenzo
ECN 310: Health Economics Fall 2025 - Yulya Truskinovsky
ECN 310: Economics of Risky Behavior Spring 2026 - John Cawley
MAX 201: Quantitative Methods for Social Sciences Fall 2026 - Liwu Gan
Presentations
Seminars
Morton, A., Irwin, J. N. (2020, September). How Changes in Land Values Impact Property Capital
Investment in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. Poster presented at the UNLV 21st Annual
Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Morton, A., (2024, April). Food Deserts: A Spatial Equilibrium Proposal. Slides presented at the
Syracuse Economics Department Trade Breakfast
Morton, A., (2025, May). Parking Requirements and City Productivity. Slides presented at the
Syracuse Economics Department Labor Group
Morton, A., (2026, April). Parking Requirements and City Productivity. Slides presented at the
Syracuse Economics Department Labor Group
Guest Lecture
Morton, A. (2025, October). Spatial Equilibrium and Health Outcomes. Lecture given in ECN 310, Spring 2025, at Syracuse University