Law Commons^™

Women's Work And Wealth: Measuring The Impact Of Incremental Liberations, 1850-1870, Hannah Kelly

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Using a two-way fixed effects difference-in-difference model, this project analyzes data from the IPUMS Full Count census for 1850, 1860, and 1870 at a state level for 48 states. Four models assess the impact of property laws on women's real property holdings, labor force participation, household types, and real property values.

By quantifying the impact of various legal reforms on women's economic empowerment, this project fills a gap in the understanding of the intersection between law, society, and women's economic agency during a transformative period in pre-industrial American history. These impacts can implicate the effectiveness of legislative measures in advancing …

Renewable Portfolio Standards: Effectiveness And Carbon Implications, Alexander S. Albrecht

CMC Senior Theses

A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policy is a popular regulatory tool implemented within the U.S. and abroad to limit energy sector emissions and incentivize renewable energy. Assessing their effectiveness and efficiency is a key component of achieving further reductions. We assess an energy market under an RPS using fixed-effects panel and 2SLS regression models to lend empirical credence to common theory-based concerns about RPS policy, namely (1) that they leave emissions unregulated once the RPS requirement is met and (2) that they do not incentivize full use of renewable energy resources. Our results show these to be valid concerns that …

Crime Reduction And Reformation In South Carolina: An Analysis Of Sb 1154, Matthew Torres

All Theses

This thesis evaluates the policy response to the criminal justice crisis of South Carolina, Senate Bill (SB) 1154, dubbed the Omnibus Crime Reduction and Sentencing Reform Act of 2010. SB 1154 adopted a series of “common sense” reforms, including new charges constituting as violent crimes, redefined sentences in the form of reduced penalties and harsher penalties for nonviolent and violent crimes respectively, mandated supervision of individuals on probation or parole, and credit programs for early release of inmates among other provisions intended to reduce inmate population, recidivism and violent crime rates.

I examine three key factors: inmate, imprisonment and violent …

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

Using Difference-In-Differences Analysis And The Kocyk Geometric Lag Model To Estimate Aspects Of Carbon Tax Effectiveness In Nordic Countries, Kyle Riley

Honors Theses

This paper generally looks at the connections between carbon taxes and carbon emission levels in Nordic countries over a period from the 1960s to the early 2010s. Most of the existing literature on this topic looks at and finds that carbon taxes do have a significant impact upon carbon emissions levels in some countries while not in others. In many countries which have this policy there is not a significant impact that can be seen and there is a discussion as to why this might be the case and what needs to be done to fix these potential issues to …

Neither “Post-War” Nor Post-Pregnancy Paranoia: How America’S War On Drugs Continues To Perpetuate Disparate Incarceration Outcomes For Pregnant, Substance-Involved Offenders, Becca S. Zimmerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the unique interactions between pregnancy, substance involvement, and race as they relate to the War on Drugs and the hyper-incarceration of women. Using ordinary least square regression analyses and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, I examine if (and how) pregnancy status, drug use, race, and their interactions influence two length of incarceration outcomes: sentence length and amount of time spent in jail between arrest and imprisonment. The results collectively indicate that pregnancy decreases length of incarceration outcomes for those offenders who are not substance-involved but not evenhandedly -- benefitting white …

The Ncaa's Breaking Point For Equal Opportunity: A Title Ix Perspective On Name, Image, And Likeness Sponsorship Legislation, Joshua C. Sorbe

Honors Thesis

This paper analyzes the efficacy of Title IX when considering national name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation and NCAA Division I athletic department expenditure behavior. To answer this question, I analyzed Title IX’s legislative history, current compliance rules, recent litigation, and academic literature. Using publicly-available data reported to the US Department of Education, I performed regression analysis on institutional characteristics and expenditure behaviors to assess the impact that spending behavior has on gender equity. My results show that revenue-generating sports had a large impact on spending equity, and disparities in expenditures are more distinct than participation. Ultimately, the market-based exceptions …

Proposition 47 And Crime: A Difference In Differences Analysis Of Incarceration Rates And Crime Using Border Counties, Brian J. Fischer

Theses and Dissertations

California passed Proposition 47 by vote and changed the way the state punishes drug and theft. I find an increase in crime using a difference in differences model by computing the change in thefts with the change in inmates. This effect sides with anecdotal claims and disagrees with empirical studies.

The Pricing Impact Of Decreasing Competitiveness Of The Health Insurance Market, Lauren N. Patterson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Sectional Exploration Of Household Financial Reactions And Homebuyer Awareness Of Registered Sex Offenders In A Rural, Suburban, And Urban County., John Charles Navarro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As stigmatized persons, registered sex offenders betoken instability in communities. Depressed home sale values are associated with the presence of registered sex offenders even though the public is largely unaware of the presence of registered sex offenders. Using a spatial multilevel approach, the current study examines the role registered sex offenders influence sale values of homes sold in 2015 for three U.S. counties (rural, suburban, and urban) located in Illinois and Kentucky within the social disorganization framework. Homebuyers were surveyed to examine whether awareness of local registered sex offenders and the homebuyer’s community type operate as moderators between home selling …

Cost Growth In Weapons Systems: Re-Examining Rubber Baselines And Ecomonic Factors, Philip E. Ruter Ii

Theses and Dissertations

This paper will evaluate cost overruns from a microeconomic perspective to determine their root causes. The specific variables that will be evaluated are: contract budget fluctuations, contract length, inflation, procurement budget fluctuation, research and development budget fluctuation, the technology readiness of the commodity, and industry concentration. These variables will be evaluated twice. The first evaluation will consist of a binary choice model to determine whether or not the dependent variables influence the likelihood of a cost overrun. The specific form of the evaluation will take the form of a probit regression in which an independent variable value of zero indicates …