Law Commons^™

Another Role For Securities Regulation: Expanding Opportunity, Jasmin Sethi

Jasmin Sethi

Securities regulation can be justified on a number of grounds, but historically, expanding opportunities for wealth accumulation across sectors of the population has not been a justification given credence. This paper examines the implications of integrating an opportunities based perspective in evaluating securities regulation for policy decisions. I demonstrate how the policy implications of such a perspective are often distinct from those implicated by other approaches, such as a public welfare approach to securities regulation. In this article, I apply this perspective and what we know about human behavior to examine how securities policy could be shaped by an opportunities-based …

An Empirical Analysis Of Regulator Mandates On The Pass Through Of Switched Access Fees For In-State Long-Distance Telecommunications In The U.S., Debra J. Aron, David E. Burnstein, Ana Danies, Gerry Keith

Debra J. Aron

In the parlance of regulatory economics, “pass through” refers to the effect of a change in an incremental cost – generally, the effect of a change in a regulated input price – on the retail price of a good or service. In this paper we examine pass through with regard to the switched access fees paid by long distance companies to local exchange carriers in the United States. We estimate the degree to which long distance companies pass through differences in access rates to their customers, and we examine whether mandates imposed by regulators on long distance companies to pass …

The Rise And Fall Of Managerial Adaptive Responses To Incentive Pay, Sharon Hannes

Sharon Hannes

A commonly-voiced argument ties the current financial crisis to prevailing executive compensation practices. Huge stock-option packages and annual bonuses, the claim goes, caused managers to concentrate on the short-run and overlook the downside of risk-taking. But why did crisis emerge only recently, even though such incentive pay schemes are hardly a new phenomenon? This paper argues that for a long period of time, from the beginning of the 1990s until the beginning of the twenty-first century, managers employed a variety of adaptive tactics in response to option-based compensation and other risk-inducing pay schemes. These practices enabled executives to enrich themselves …

Lessons In Price Stability From The U.S. Real Estate Market Collapse, Andrea J. Boyack

Andrea J Boyack

The U.S. residential housing market collapse illustrates the consequences of ignoring risk while funding mortgage borrowing. Collateral over-valuation was a foundational piece of the crisis. Over the past few decades, secondary markets, securitization, policy and psychology increased the flow of funds into real estate. At the same time, financial market segmentation divorced risk from reward. Increased mortgage capital availability, unmitigated by proper risk allocation, led to real estate price inflation. Social trends and government policies exacerbated both the mortgage capital over-supply and the risk-valuation disconnect.

The Dodd-Frank Act inadequately addresses the underlying asset valuation problem. Federal regulation may support market …

The Not-So-Risky Business Of High-End Escorts And The Internet In The 21st Century, Robert R. Rigg

Robert R. Rigg

The advent of the Internet has changed the advertising and marketing of prostitution. This advertising and marketing has expanded greatly since the days of advertisements in newspaper classifieds, as seen in the movie, Risky Business. Today, Internet websites allow escorts much greater exposure.

This Article focuses on “high-end” escorts—escorts charging more than $500 per act or session. These service providers use the Internet in ways different than their low-end or mid-range counterparts. These high-end escorts have sophisticated websites, geared toward discretion—for both the provider and client.

Criminal law has begun focusing on escorts who use the Internet for advertising and …

The Law And Policy Of Online Privacy: Regulation, Self-Regulation Or Co-Regulation?, Dennis D. Hirsch

Dennis D Hirsch

The Internet poses grave new threats to information privacy. Search engines collect and store our search queries; Web sites track our online activity and then sell this information to others; and Internet Search Providers read the very packets of information through which we interact with the Internet. Yet the debate over how best to address this problem has ground to a halt, stuck between those who call for a vigorous legislative response and those who advocate for market solutions and self-regulation. In 1995, the European Union member states began to build a third approach into their data protection laws, one …

Stock Broker Standards Of Conduct – Principles, Rules And Fiduciary Duties, Thomas Lee Hazen

Thomas Lee Hazen

In recent years there has been concern as to the adequacy of broker-dealer regulation. SEC and self regulatory organization rulemaking addresses specific types of broker-dealer conduct but by and large the regulation has been based on principles and standards rather than voluminous detailed rules specifying prohibited conduct. In particular, a good deal of broker-dealer conduct is addressed under the umbrella of regulating according to fair and just principles of trade. Also, much of the SEC’s rulemaking authority is based on the ability to prohibit fraudulent, manipulative, and deceptive devices. It also has been suggested that broker-dealers should be subject to …

Stock Broker Standards Of Conduct – Principles, Rules And Fiduciary Duties, Thomas Lee Hazen

Thomas Lee Hazen

In recent years there has been concern as to the adequacy of broker-dealer regulation. SEC and self regulatory organization rulemaking addresses specific types of broker-dealer conduct but by and large the regulation has been based on principles and standards rather than voluminous detailed rules specifying prohibited conduct. In particular, a good deal of broker-dealer conduct is addressed under the umbrella of regulating according to fair and just principles of trade. Also, much of the SEC’s rulemaking authority is based on the ability to prohibit fraudulent, manipulative, and deceptive devices. It also has been suggested that broker-dealers should be subject to …

How Regulatory Frameworks Fight Cancer: Two Examples From The United States And The European Union, Louise G. Trubek, Thomas R. Oliver, Chih-Ming Liang, Matt Mokrohisky, Toby Campbell

Louise G Trubek

Integrated networks of doctors, patients, and hospitals are a major technique of cancer governance. They enable stakeholders to pool information and resources and achieve systematic learning. Two groups, the childhood cancer group in the US and the Europe Against Cancer initiative, are examples of network governance. Both demonstrate learning processes, production of new data and dissemination, financial support and engagement of all stakeholders. Why have these integrated networks been successful while so many others have failed? Because both are embedded within regulatory frameworks that ensure that networks work properly. Integrated networks are vulnerable when the frameworks fail to provide the …

Diseño Institucional De Órganos Reguladores En México, Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

No abstract provided.

Against The Stand-Alone-Cost Test In U.S. Freight Rail Regulation, Russell W. Pittman

Russell W. Pittman

The stand-alone-cost test has become an expensive, extensive, and time-consuming part of the regulatory practice of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in the performance of its statutory duty to protect "captive shippers" from monopoly rail rates. Worse, a close examination of the history of its adoption and application suggests only a very tenuous connection with its claimed intellectual foundations, the classic works of Faulhaber (1975) and Baumol, Panzar, and Willig (1982). It is time to retire this tool and replace it with something simpler and more effective and transparent.

The French Strategic Investment Fund: A Creative Approach To Complement Swf Regulation Or Mere Protectionism?, Jean-Rodolphe W. Fiechter Ll.M.

Jean-Rodolphe W. Fiechter

Sovereign Wealth Funds Regulation and Protectionism: Is the French Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement (FSI) a creative way of complementing the existing review mechanism or is it just another protectionist device? We come to the conclusion that although the FSI is an instrument of economic patriotism, it does not insulate France from the globalized world. It can even be seen as a good instrument to achieve SWF regulation.

Microfinance Regulation: Interest Rate Caps And Concept Of Usury, Gray L. Skinner, William H. Payne

Gray L Skinner

I. Between Scylla and Charybdis: The balancing act of lending to the poor (Abstract)

Over the past two decades, microfinance has grown rapidly, reaching markets around the world and garnering the attention of policy makers and the media. Microfinance is the practice of offering small-scale banking services to communities in developing nations to improve the client's productivity and quality of life. The microfinance industry has attracted investors and practitioners who wish to unlock the profit potential of new markets while also achieving a philanthropic goal. As microfinance has grown, however, so has the need for legal regulation. Experts and practitioners …

Organos Reguladores En México: Fragilidades Y Áreas De Oportunidad, Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

No abstract provided.

Defragmenting The Regulatory Process, Stuart Shapiro

Stuart Shapiro

The regulatory process is often criticized for being cumbersome and slow, much like a computer whose hard drive is fragmented by files no longer used or useful. Like such a computer, the regulatory process contains many requirement of dubious utility. These include the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, and numerous executive orders. While other parts of the regulatory process such as notice and comment and cost-benefit analysis have received much more academic attention, these other parts of the process deserve examination as well. This paper argues that such an examination will reveal that …

Inversión Extranjera En Paquetería, Mensajería Y Transporte De Carga: ¿Resistencia O Estado De Derecho?, Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

No abstract provided.

Fairness, Utility, And Market Risk, Jeff Schwartz

Jeff Schwartz

In this Article, I argue that we lack a satisfactory theory about how disclosure, the centerpiece of securities regulation, serves investor interests. To close this gap, I contend that the regulations should be viewed as part of a broader societal framework that protects individuals from stock-market risk. I flesh out this notion in three ways. First, I set out to justify protection from market risk as a valid societal goal. To do so, I appeal to Rawlsian and utilitarian notions of justice. These moral theories contain the principle that a just society helps individuals manage risk. I argue that this …

The Need For Better Analysis Of High Capacity Services, George S. Ford, Lawrence J. Spiwak

GEORGE S FORD

In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) began to grant incumbent local exchange carriers (“LECs”) pricing flexibility on special access services in some Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”) when specific evidence of competitive alternatives is present. The propriety of that deregulatory move by the FCC has been criticized by the purchasers of such services ever since. Proponents of special access price regulation rely on three central arguments to support a retreat to strict price regulation: (1) the market(s) for special access and similar services is unduly concentrated; (2) rates of return on special access services, computed using FCC ARMIS data, are …

The Economics Of Railroad “Captive Shipper” Legislation, Russell W. Pittman

Russell W. Pittman

Recent rate increases by U.S. freight railroads have refocused attention on regulation, deregulation, and regulatory reforms in the railroad industry. Legislation introduced into Congress would render a variety of railroad behavior newly subject to the jurisdiction of the antitrust statutes, with potential enforcement by the Antitrust Division and the FTC and through lawsuits brought by state attorneys general or private parties. This paper considers the economic issues raised by legislation and the likely impacts on competition and welfare.

Responding To Nursing Home Abuse-Case Study Of Illinois Department Of Public Health, Department Of Professional Regulation. Us Human Rights Record Worse Than China Record, James T. Struck

James T Struck

Illinois takes away the right to decide and resources of people with disabilities under guardianship. Other nations and states also have guardianship with over 1.6 million people under guardianship, and 1.6 million in nursing homes. Some Illinois nursing homes deny liberties such as phone use, visitation, coming home, fresh air away from second hand smoking, consent, chemicals used, dental services, religious services, knowing where family is, museums, zoos, parks, reunions. This article addresses the regulatory response. When seeking the assistance of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Human Rights Department, and Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, requests for phone …

Fortalecer A Los Reguladores: Cambiando Las Reglas Del Juego En México (Presentación Libro), Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

No abstract provided.

Fortalecer A Los Reguladores, Cambiando Las Reglas Del Juego En México, Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

Alejandro Faya Rodriguez

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Regulating Human Biomedical Research, Tracey E. Chan

Tracey E Chan

No abstract provided.

These Statements Have Not Been Approved By The Fda: Improving The Post-Approval Regulation Of Prescription Drugs, Christopher R. Page

Christopher R. Page

The American public’s confidence in the FDA is waning in the midst of increased reporting of inefficiencies in the agency. The missteps by the FDA in the post-approval regulation of prescription drugs are magnified by the pervasive use of prescription drugs in the market. This article identifies these missteps. It also chronicles the response of the state attorneys general to this void in regulation, from the famous class action suit against the tobacco industry to the Oxycontin litigation to the recent Vioxx settlement.

This response to the public’s lack of confidence is accomplished through lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies under state …

Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac: Creatures Of Regulatory Privilege, David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

This book chapter addresses the appropriate role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-chartered, privately owned mortgage finance companies, in the United States housing finance sector. The federal government recently placed Fannie and Freddie in conservatorship. These two massive companies are profit-driven, but as government-sponsored enterprises they also have a government-mandated mission to provide liquidity and stability to the United States mortgage market and to achieve certain affordable housing goals. How the two companies should exit their conservatorship has implications that reach throughout the global financial markets and are of key importance to the future of American housing finance …

Regulatory Reform In The States: Lessons From New Jersey, Stuart Shapiro, Deborah Borie-Holtz

Stuart Shapiro

While numerous examinations of the rulemaking process have occurred at the federal level, there is a dearth of studies about the effects of the proceduralization of the rulemaking process on state regulations. Our examination focuses on regulations promulgated in New Jersey, both prior to and following, major procedural changes enacted in the state in 2001. By choosing distinct leadership periods, one governed by Democrats and one by Republicans, we attempt to control for differences in political preferences for regulation. During the study years, we collected data on 1,707 regulations on a wide array of variables from the type of rulemaking, …