Chapter 1 is concerned with the effect of public fire service quality on individual utility. I develop a theoretical model to account for fire risk as a function of socio-economic, housing, and spatial factors. I review relevant literature on certain inherent public fire service issues regarding technology and cost structure before I briefly discuss the importance of public fire service with regard to overall social welfare. Finally, I employ equity mapping in a case study to assess the effect of a budget cut on equity of fire service allocation in Detroit.
Chapter 2 examines whether socio-economic factors, various aspects of housing, and spatial features can explain differences in building fire risk across Detroit. Using a complete Detroit fire incidents data set for the years 2008-2012, matched by census tract to American Community Survey (ACS) data for the same period, I employ kernel density mapping and spatial regression techniques to address the research question. Estimations suggest a positive correlation between poverty and fire risk, especially with regard to intentional building fires. In the case of unintentional building fires, no such conclusion can be drawn easily. I find evidence for fire clustering and spillover effects.
Chapter 3 approaches the question of optimal fire station siting in Detroit from a welfare economics viewpoint. Therefore, I assess the effects of a decrease in public budget in 2012 on distributional equity. First, regression analysis is used to determine the effect on response time as an indicator of fire service quality. Second, I use various statistical measures to evaluate intra-city service distribution with respect to equality. Third, I develop a fire risk index and link it to service quality to determine need satisfaction. I find ambiguous effects on distributional equality, while there is strong evidence of the change in budget having a negative effect on equity interpreted as need.
","abstract_html":"<p>Chapter 1 is concerned with the effect of public fire service quality on individual utility. I develop a theoretical model to account for fire risk as a function of socio-economic, housing, and spatial factors. I review relevant literature on certain inherent public fire service issues regarding technology and cost structure before I briefly discuss the importance of public fire service with regard to overall social welfare. Finally, I employ equity mapping in a case study to assess the effect of a budget cut on equity of fire service allocation in Detroit.</p> <p>Chapter 2 examines whether socio-economic factors, various aspects of housing, and spatial features can explain differences in building fire risk across Detroit. Using a complete Detroit fire incidents data set for the years 2008-2012, matched by census tract to American Community Survey (ACS) data for the same period, I employ kernel density mapping and spatial regression techniques to address the research question. Estimations suggest a positive correlation between poverty and fire risk, especially with regard to intentional building fires. In the case of unintentional building fires, no such conclusion can be drawn easily. I find evidence for fire clustering and spillover effects.</p> <p>Chapter 3 approaches the question of optimal fire station siting in Detroit from a welfare economics viewpoint. Therefore, I assess the effects of a decrease in public budget in 2012 on distributional equity. First, regression analysis is used to determine the effect on response time as an indicator of fire service quality. Second, I use various statistical measures to evaluate intra-city service distribution with respect to equality. Third, I develop a fire risk index and link it to service quality to determine need satisfaction. I find ambiguous effects on distributional equality, while there is strong evidence of the change in budget having a negative effect on equity interpreted as need.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jung, Matthias H."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Economics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michael H. Belzer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:00:17Z","subjects":["Allocative Efficiency","Basic Needs","Cost-Benefit Analysis","Equity","Welfare Economics","Economics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1400","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michael H. Belzer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jung, Matthias H."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Economics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Allocative Efficiency","Basic Needs","Cost-Benefit Analysis","Equity","Welfare Economics","Economics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1400"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Chapter 1 is concerned with the effect of public fire service quality on individual utility. I develop a theoretical model to account for fire risk as a function of socio-economic, housing, and spatial factors. I review relevant literature on certain inherent public fire service issues regarding technology and cost structure before I briefly discuss the importance of public fire service with regard to overall social welfare. Finally, I employ equity mapping in a case study to assess the effect of a budget cut on equity of fire service allocation in Detroit.
Chapter 2 examines whether socio-economic factors, various aspects of housing, and spatial features can explain differences in building fire risk across Detroit. Using a complete Detroit fire incidents data set for the years 2008-2012, matched by census tract to American Community Survey (ACS) data for the same period, I employ kernel density mapping and spatial regression techniques to address the research question. Estimations suggest a positive correlation between poverty and fire risk, especially with regard to intentional building fires. In the case of unintentional building fires, no such conclusion can be drawn easily. I find evidence for fire clustering and spillover effects.
Chapter 3 approaches the question of optimal fire station siting in Detroit from a welfare economics viewpoint. Therefore, I assess the effects of a decrease in public budget in 2012 on distributional equity. First, regression analysis is used to determine the effect on response time as an indicator of fire service quality. Second, I use various statistical measures to evaluate intra-city service distribution with respect to equality. Third, I develop a fire risk index and link it to service quality to determine need satisfaction. I find ambiguous effects on distributional equality, while there is strong evidence of the change in budget having a negative effect on equity interpreted as need.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Economic Welfare Of Firefighting Service In Detroit"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Michael H. Belzer"],"dc:creator":["Jung, Matthias H."],"dc:date.available":["2016-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Chapter 1 is concerned with the effect of public fire service quality on individual utility. I develop a theoretical model to account for fire risk as a function of socio-economic, housing, and spatial factors. I review relevant literature on certain inherent public fire service issues regarding technology and cost structure before I briefly discuss the importance of public fire service with regard to overall social welfare. Finally, I employ equity mapping in a case study to assess the effect of a budget cut on equity of fire service allocation in Detroit.
Chapter 2 examines whether socio-economic factors, various aspects of housing, and spatial features can explain differences in building fire risk across Detroit. Using a complete Detroit fire incidents data set for the years 2008-2012, matched by census tract to American Community Survey (ACS) data for the same period, I employ kernel density mapping and spatial regression techniques to address the research question. Estimations suggest a positive correlation between poverty and fire risk, especially with regard to intentional building fires. In the case of unintentional building fires, no such conclusion can be drawn easily. I find evidence for fire clustering and spillover effects.
Chapter 3 approaches the question of optimal fire station siting in Detroit from a welfare economics viewpoint. Therefore, I assess the effects of a decrease in public budget in 2012 on distributional equity. First, regression analysis is used to determine the effect on response time as an indicator of fire service quality. Second, I use various statistical measures to evaluate intra-city service distribution with respect to equality. Third, I develop a fire risk index and link it to service quality to determine need satisfaction. I find ambiguous effects on distributional equality, while there is strong evidence of the change in budget having a negative effect on equity interpreted as need.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/1400"],"dc:subject":["Allocative Efficiency","Basic Needs","Cost-Benefit Analysis","Equity","Welfare Economics","Economics"],"dc:title":["Economic Welfare Of Firefighting Service In Detroit"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Economics"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:00:17Z"}