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Full-Text Articles in Law

Charity And Information: Correcting The Failure Of A Disjunctive Social Norm, Robert D. Cooter, Brian Broughman Dec 2009

Charity And Information: Correcting The Failure Of A Disjunctive Social Norm, Robert D. Cooter, Brian Broughman

Robert Cooter

Charitable donations fund social goods that the state and markets undersupply. While some people donate much to charity, most Americans donate little or nothing. Experiments in behavioral economics show that anonymity, not human nature, causes low contributions. Disclosure of each individual’s aggregate conduct is necessary for the effectiveness of any disjunctive social norm, including charity. We propose a public registry where each taxpayer can voluntarily disclose the ratio between his charitable giving and income. The registry will clarify the social norm and increase average donations. We extend our analysis to pro bono legal services where a similar registry would encourage …


Treating Yourself Instrumentally Internalization, Rationality, And The Law, Robert D. Cooter Dec 2004

Treating Yourself Instrumentally Internalization, Rationality, And The Law, Robert D. Cooter

Robert Cooter

No abstract provided.


Three Effects Of Social Norms On Law: Expression, Deterrence, And Internalization, Robert D. Cooter Mar 2000

Three Effects Of Social Norms On Law: Expression, Deterrence, And Internalization, Robert D. Cooter

Robert Cooter

No abstract provided.


Three Effects Of Social Norms On Law: Expression, Deterrence, And Internalization, Robert D. Cooter Dec 1999

Three Effects Of Social Norms On Law: Expression, Deterrence, And Internalization, Robert D. Cooter

Robert Cooter

State organizations suffer from agency problems that preclude effective motivation of people by formal means alone. Social norms contribute to the effectiveness of state law. Aligning law with morality creates power synergies. I analysis three of them: expression (coordination by law and morality), justification (intrinsic motivation to do what is right) , and sanctions (material costs of wrongdoing).