Controlling Groundwater Exploitation Through Economic Instruments: Current Practices, Challenges and Innovative Approaches

Groundwater can be considered as a common-pool resource, is often overexploited and, as a result, there are growing management pressures. This chapter starts with a broad presentation of the range of economic instruments that can be used for groundwater management, considering current practices and innovative approaches inspired from the literature on Common Pool Resources management. It then goes on with a detailed presentation of groundwater allocation policies implemented in France, the High Plains aquifer in the USA, and Chile. The chapter concludes with a discussion of social and political difficulties associated with implementing economic instruments for groundwater management

Revisiting the Rationality Assumption of Disclosure Laws: An Empirical Analysis

Disclosure laws are based on one central assumption: that disclosees are, by their verynature, rational actors. This article questions the validity of this theoretical assumption.The article empirically shows that franchisees, who are considered sophisticateddisclosees, are unrealistically optimistic about disclosed risks.In this empirical study, franchisees (N = 205) completed an online researchquestionnaire, in which they compared their own chances of experiencing disclosedrisks with the chances of their colleagues. It was found that franchisees wereoptimistically biased. Franchisees believed that the chances that their franchisor mightopportunistically terminate their franchise are significantly lower than that of anaverage franchisee in their chain and state.The theoretical and practical implications of overconfidence in the franchise businessare discussed

Revisiting the Rationality Assumption of Disclosure Laws: An Empirical Analysis

Disclosure laws are based on one central assumption: that disclosees are, by their verynature, rational actors. This article questions the validity of this theoretical assumption.The article empirically shows that franchisees, who are considered sophisticateddisclosees, are unrealistically optimistic about disclosed risks.In this empirical study, franchisees (N = 205) completed an online researchquestionnaire, in which they compared their own chances of experiencing disclosedrisks with the chances of their colleagues. It was found that franchisees wereoptimistically biased. Franchisees believed that the chances that their franchisor mightopportunistically terminate their franchise are significantly lower than that of anaverage franchisee in their chain and state.The theoretical and practical implications of overconfidence in the franchise businessare discussed