Law Commons^™

For Both Love And Money: Viviana Zelizer's "The Purchase Of Intimacy", Martha M. Ertman

Martha M. Ertman

Viviana Zelizer’s recent book, The Purchase of Intimacy (2005) presents an innovative theory of how social and legal actors negotiate rights and obligations when money changes hands in intimate relationships--a perspective that could change how we understand many things, from valuations of homemaking labor to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. This essay describes Zelizer’s critique of the reductionist “Hostile Worlds” and “Nothing But” approaches to economic exchange in intimate relationships, then explains her more three-dimensional approach, “Connected Lives.” While Zelizer focuses on family law, the essay goes beyond that context, extending Zelizer’s approach to transfers of genetic material, and concluding …

Cooperation Before Contract: The Law And Policy Of Expenses Incurred During Negotiations In Comparative Perspective, Luigi Russi

Luigi Russi

Pending negotiations for a contract, one party may begin to incur expenses in fulfilment of the proposed economic operation in anticipation of the finalisation of a formal contract, which is a common practice in many settings, from building and lease contracts to contracts for services in general. This book, therefore, focuses on controversies that may arise when an expected contract collapses after one party withdraws from negotiations, with an ensuing attempt to determine what liability, if any, the withdrawing party should face regarding expenses incurred by the other. The laws of England and Italy, along with several non-legislative codifications – …

Szerződésértelmezés Hermeneutika És Jogpolitika Között. A Contra Proferentem Szabály [Contract Interpretation Between Hermeneutics And Policy: The Contra Proferentem Rule], Péter Cserne

Péter Cserne

This paper discusses why contract interpretation is substantially different from the interpretation of literary works and illustrates the argument with the analysis of the contra proferentem rule. It is a substantially revised version of my ‘Policy considerations in contract interpretation: the contra proferentem rule from a comparative law and economics perspective’ (2009)

Fear And Projection As Root Causes Of War, And The Archetypal Energies "Trust" And "Peace" As Antidotes, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

I want to use this opportunity to discuss a phenomenon that continues to plague the human experience. It is called the game of war. War is perhaps the deadliest game that humanity has created. The conflict itself represents what appears to be opposing views about the way things should be. Each side believes that it is right and that its actions are justified. Each side therefore seeks to impose its views on the other or to defend its views against the other. Each side fears the other as an enemy and each side projects its fears onto its perceived “enemy.”

September 11th, John Maynard Keynes, Kenneth J. Arrow, And Me: The Nexus, David Randall Jenkins

David Randall Jenkins, Ph.D.

Competition Law And The International Transport Sectors, Sock Yong Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

No abstract provided.

Professor's Update To Antitrust Analysis: Problems, Text And Cases, Phillip Areeda, Louis Kaplow, Aaron S. Edlin

Aaron Edlin

No abstract provided.

The Role Of International Law Firms And Multijural Legal Human Capital In The Harmonization Of Legal Regimes, Gillian K. Hadfield

Gillian K Hadfield

The problem of harmonizing legal rules across multiple overlapping legal orders is, in part, a problem of knowledge. If the public goal of harmonization is to promote value in transactions and dispute resolution, a legal regime needs institutions that facilitate the production of multijural human capital: expertise about how legal rules interact with each other and with the environment in which economic actors design transactions and dispute processing mechanisms. Because much of this expertise is embedded with the actors involved in transactions and disputes, the production of expertise has to be supported by adequate incentives for private actors to invest …

For Both Love And Money: Viviana Zelizer's "The Purchase Of Intimacy", Martha M. Ertman

Martha M. Ertman

Viviana Zelizer’s recent book, The Purchase of Intimacy (2005) presents an innovative theory of how social and legal actors negotiate rights and obligations when money changes hands in intimate relationships--a perspective that could change how we understand many things, from valuations of homemaking labor to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. This essay describes Zelizer’s critique of the reductionist “Hostile Worlds” and “Nothing But” approaches to economic exchange in intimate relationships, then explains her more three-dimensional approach, “Connected Lives.” While Zelizer focuses on family law, the essay goes beyond that context, extending Zelizer’s approach to transfers of genetic material, and concluding …

Olavo De Carvalho Sobre Economia De Mercado E Tradição, Lucas Mendes

Lucas Mendes

O presente ensaio pretende discutir o argumento libertário de que a moral deve ser um elemento inerente, senão subjacente, à própria economia livre. Para tanto, traz-se à tona os argumentos de Gertrude Himmelfarb e Olavo de Carvalho para esclarecer o papel fundamental da ética e o porquê de sua prioridade absoluta sobre a ordem de mercado.

More Guns, Less Crime Fails Again: The Latest Evidence From 1977 – 2006, John Donohue, Ian Ayres

John Donohue

No abstract provided.

Show Me The Money, Aaron S. Edlin, Dwight Jaffee

Aaron Edlin

Where did TARP go?

The Misdirection Of Resources And The Current Recession, Mario J. Rizzo

Mario Rizzo

An analysis of the deficiencies of the stimulus pakage of February, 2009 from the point of view of a microeconomist.

The Dynamic Quality Of Law: The Role Of Judicial Incentives And Legal Human Capital In The Adaptation Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield

Gillian K Hadfield

Much of the existing literature investigating the relationship between legal regimes and economic growth focuses on the agency problem of aligning judicial incentives with social welfare. In this paper I look instead at the factors that influence the quality of law when judges have incentives to promote social welfare but they have limited knowledge about the environment in which law is to be applied. The key insight is that the capacity for a legal regime to generate value-enhancing legal adaptation to local and changing conditions depends on its capacity to generate and implement adequate expertise about the environment in which …

A Comparison Among The Director Networks In The Main Listed Companies In France, Germany, Italy, And The United Kingdom, Paolo Santella, Carlo Drago, Andrea Polo, Enrico Gagliardi

Carlo Drago

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on director interlocks by illustrating and analysing the interlocking directorships among the Italian, French, German, UK and US listed Blue Chips. The comparison of the five countries considered shows that two national models stand out. On the one hand a model made of a high number of companies linked to each other through a small number of shared directors who serve on several company boards at the time (France, Germany, and Italy). On the other hand, in the UK much fewer companies are connected to each other essentially through …

A Tiny Heart Beating: Student-Edited Legal Periodicals In Good Ol' Europe, Luigi Russi, Federico Longobardi

Luigi Russi

This paper has a twofold aim: to analyze the possible opportunities disclosed by the observed growth of student- dited law reviews in Europe and to propose an innovative model of student participation to legal publication.

The first part explores the phenomenon of student-edited law reviews in the U.S., focusing on its recognized educational benefits. Among others, it is observed that participation in student-edited law reviews might promote greater scholarly maturity among J.D. students, who might in turn be better equipped for a career in the academia after finishing law school, in comparison to their same-age European peers. Hence, there follows …

Substance Or Mere Technique? A Precis On Good Faith Performance In England, France And Germany, Luigi Russi

Luigi Russi

This paper attempts to offer a concise discussion of good faith performance and other functionally equivalent doctrines in the laws of England, Germany and France. The study’s goal is that of appraising the consistency of existing differences. More specifically, of whether they relate merely to technique - not being paralleled by diverging final outcomes - or whether the rift is deeper and goes to the very substance of the approach to the solution of similar practical problems. For this purpose, the work first shows the close connection between good faith performance (of contractual obligations) and good faith enforcement (of contractual …

Technology & Uncertainty: The Shaping Effect On Copyright Law, Ben Depoorter

Ben Depoorter

This Article examines the symbiotic relationship between copyright law and technology. I describe how an environment characterized by rapid technological change creates two conditions that determine the direction and evolution of copyright law: legal delay and legal uncertainty. I explain how uncertainty over the application of existing copyright law to newly emerging technology catalyzes the actions of copyright owners and users. I argue that uncertainty and delay (1) have an enabling effect on anticopyright sentiments, (2) lead to a greater reliance on self-help efforts by content providers and users, and (3) induce legislative involvement in copyright law. In the final …

Making Property Productive: Reorganizing Rights To Real And Equitable Estates In Britain, 1660 To 1830, Gary Richardson

Gary Richardson

Between 1660 and 1830, Parliament passed thousands of Acts restructuring rights to real and equitable estates. These estate Acts enabled individuals and families to sell, mortgage, lease, exchange and improve land previously bound by inheritance rules and other legal legacies. The loosening of these legal constraints facilitated the reallocation of land and resources towards higher-value uses. Data reveal correlations between estate Acts, urbanization and economic development during the decades surrounding the Industrial Revolution.

Flying Passports Of Convenience, Karl T. Muth

Karl T Muth

This paper proposes an economic alternative to the legal construct of citizenship that currently dominates international law.

Opportunism, Uncertainty, And Relational Contracting - Antitrust Rules In The Film Industry, Ryan M. Riegg

Ryan M. Riegg

Behavioral Economic Issues In American & Islamic Marriage & Divorce Law, Ryan M. Riegg

Ryan M. Riegg

Tributação & Desenvolvimento, Ivo T. Gico

Ivo Teixeira Gico Jr.

Editorial sobre o papel da tributação no desenvolvimento econômico.

The Public And The Private In The Provision Of Law For Global Transactions, Gillian K. Hadfield

Gillian K Hadfield

In this essay, I revisit the public/private divide in order to explore more fully the potential for private production of law in global exchange and also to clarify what I think are differences in the way common law and civil legal scholars think about the public and the private in law.

The Strategy Of Methodology: The Virtues Of Being Reductionist For Comparative Law, Gillian K. Hadfield

Gillian K Hadfield

In this comment I respond to three comments by comparative legal scholars on my paper "Levers of Legal Design: Institutional Determinants of the Quality of Law." In this comment I respond to concerns about the potential for the reductionist methodology employed by economist to illuminate issues in comparative law, particularly in light of commitments in comparative legal scholarship to deep understanding of culture and respect for different legal systems.

What Is The Probability Your Vote Will Make A Difference?, Andrew Gelman, Nate Silver, Aaron S. Edlin

Aaron Edlin

Teaching Pronunciation With Facebook And Photobooth, Robert A. Eckhart

Robert A. Eckhart

This article gives details about how to use Facebook and Photobooth to teach pronunciation to non-native English speakers.

Through The Looking Glass: The Politics Of Estate Tax Reform, Edward J. Mccaffery

Edward J McCaffery

This brief article summarizes an argument that the estate tax reform or repeal debate has always been about money: not the government’s money from the tax, which is modest at best, but the politicians money from campaign contributions elicited to retain or repeal the tax. The article uses that theory to predict likely short term legislative developments.

Ripe Standing Vines And The Jurisprudential Tasting Of Matured Legal Wines – And Law & Bananas: Property And Public Choice In The Permitting Process, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

From produce to wine, we only consume things when they are ready. The courts are no different. That concept of “readiness” is how courts address cases and controversies as well. Justiciability doctrines, particularly ripeness, have a particularly important role in takings challenges to permitting decisions. The courts largely hold that a single permit denial does not give them enough information to evaluate whether the denial is in violation of law. As a result of this jurisprudential reality, regulators with discretion have an incentive to use their power to extract rents from those that need their permission. Non-justiciability of permit denials …

Paternalism In Policy: Prospects And Limitations Of An Economic Analysis, Péter Cserne

Péter Cserne

No abstract provided.