Commentary on the Limits of Compensation and Deterrence in Legal Remedies

Allen comments on papers written by James Cox and Deborah DeMott regarding the deterrence of corporate misconduct. He examines the limits of compensation and deterrence as legal remedies

Changes in Property Tax Progressivity for Florida Homeowners after the “Save Our Homes Amendment?

The “Save Our Homes Amendment?to Florida’s constitution limits annual increases in the taxable value of a homestead property to 3 percent or the rate of inflation (whichever is less) as long as the property is owned by the same owner. The amount of property value protected from taxation throughout the state by this amendment has grown to over $246 billion (13.9 percent of total property value) since the amendment’s implementation in 1995. This study tests whether the protection has accrued disproportionately over time among homestead property owners, the very group of people the amendment was intended to protect. The results suggest that the amendment has reduced the degree of progressivity in the state’s property tax system such that the owners of lower value home properties are shouldering an increasing proportion of the property tax burden relative to the owners of higher value homestead properties. The differential impacts of the SOHA across value ranges of homestead properties are likely attributable to differential appreciation and ownership transfers for higher and lower value homestead properties throughout the state.

Identifying Determinants of Horizontal Property Tax Inequity: Evidence from Florida

In the property tax literature, an ad valorem property tax is considered equitable if all properties in the taxing jurisdiction are subject to the same effective tax rate. That is, all properties, regardless of value or type, should be taxed at the same percentage of their market value. Because market value is a theoretical construct and not directly observable, errors in estimating market value may result in systematic inequity, with some properties taxed at higher effective rates than others. This study extends previous research on property tax inequity by examining potential determinants of errors in the property valuation process for a sample of single-family homes in Palm Beach County, Florida. The results indicate that assessment difficulty (as measured by the variation around the mean assessment to transaction price ratio) is positively related to lot size, living area, age of the home and the percentage of minority residents in the neighborhood and is negatively related to market activity levels, resident income levels, whether the property is the permanent residence of its owner, and whether the property has a swimming pool. The generality of these results is limited by the use of transaction price as a proxy for unobservable market value.

Water Value and Environmental Implications of Hydraulic Fracturing: Eagle Ford Shale

Shale gas has emerged as one of the leading energy developments in the United States. Production has risen from roughly 0.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in 2006 to 4.8 TCF in 2010. Shale gas now encompasses 23% of U.S. natural gas production and is expected to be at 46% by 2035. Shale gas is considered to be one of the answers to the energy crisis. In this thesis, the goal is to address several issues related to the efficacy of hydraulic fracturing of shale in deep formations to capture oil and gas. In recent years, controversy has risen over the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the amount of water used, the environmental implications, and if the action is economically efficient in the water resources used. This research applies economic principles to develop implications based on industry, government and institutional data, and draw conclusions relative to impacts on the environment, realized amount of water, and value of water used for a typical well in the Eagle Ford development, a water-scarce region. The imputed value of water used for fracturing is severalfold greater than for in other uses. The results are useful to the industry, landowners, policy makers, and other stakeholders

Modern Corporate Governance and the Erosion of the Business Judgment Rule in Delaware Corporate Law

This essay addresses the relationship between the forces shaping modern corporate governance and wisdom of a liability rule to enforce the fiduciary duty of care against corporate directors

Water Value and Environmental Implications of Hydraulic Fracturing: Eagle Ford Shale

Shale gas has emerged as one of the leading energy developments in the United States. Production has risen from roughly 0.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in 2006 to 4.8 TCF in 2010. Shale gas now encompasses 23% of U.S. natural gas production and is expected to be at 46% by 2035. Shale gas is considered to be one of the answers to the energy crisis. In this thesis, the goal is to address several issues related to the efficacy of hydraulic fracturing of shale in deep formations to capture oil and gas. In recent years, controversy has risen over the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the amount of water used, the environmental implications, and if the action is economically efficient in the water resources used. This research applies economic principles to develop implications based on industry, government and institutional data, and draw conclusions relative to impacts on the environment, realized amount of water, and value of water used for a typical well in the Eagle Ford development, a water-scarce region. The imputed value of water used for fracturing is severalfold greater than for in other uses. The results are useful to the industry, landowners, policy makers, and other stakeholders

Early Adolescent Gifted and Talented Students and Their Experience with Bullying

Bullying, in all its forms (e.g., verbal, physical, cyber, social ostracism), is a continual problem in public schools. It exacerbates the painfully high suicide rate among early adolescent students, especially in the western U.S., with some evidence showing distinctions within the academically advanced gifted and talented (GT) cohort. Research shows GT students (GTs) are bullied at nearly double the rate of the mainstream population. Yet, quantitative statistics indicate GTs and non-GTs suffer comparable rates of trauma internalization, suicide ideation, and suicide. Some quantitative differences do start to appear with further personality distinctions. This points to a possibility that qualitative dissimilarities may best explain why GTs either respond similarly or differently to ill treatment. Using case studies, the findings of this investigation suggested how and why six distinctive GTs coped with bullying behaviors. The results indicated the potential need for more nuanced antibullying approaches that focus on the unique needs of each student, not the typical one-size-fits-all consequence-oriented school-wide program. Past research has shown such programs having limited effectiveness in their attempts to ameliorate bullying behaviors. Essentially, it may be time to try a more student-centered personality approach to the bullying problem in U.S. public schools