Law Commons^™

Loving: Who Can The Irs Regulate?, Robert D. Probasco

Robert Probasco

Puntos De Contacto Entre La Economía Del Comportamiento Y El Derecho De La Propiedad Intelectual: Resultados De Algunas Investigaciones Iniciales, Maximiliano Marzetti

Maximiliano Marzetti

En el presente artículo se describe una nueva escuela económica, la economía conductual y se analiza someramente su potencial aplicación al ámbito del derecho de la propiedad intelectual. A modo ejemplificativo, se reseñan investigaciones de economía conductual que han estudiado la efectividad de los incentivos externos sobre las actividades creativas e innovadoras, el efecto rebote de las acciones civiles contra usuarios que descargan ilegalmente de Internet contenidos protegidos por el derecho de autor y el efecto creatividad que puede distorsionar el funcionamiento de mercado de propiedad intelectual para obras creativas. Finalmente, se destaca el rol de la evidencia empírica para …

La Patentes Como Límite A La Innovación Tecnológica, Alejandro Pérez Y Soto Dominguez, Katherine Flórez Pinilla

Alejandro Pérez y Soto Dominguez

El presente artículo analiza, desde el marco de la Escuela Austriaca, la propiedad intelectual reflejada en las patentes, entendidas como un mecanismo del legislador para incentivar una conducta empresarial que propenda por la innovación y el desarrollo tecnológico. Se tomó como caso las patentes en el sector farmacéutico, obteniendo a partir de éste evidencia empírica la corroboración de las hipótesis de la escuela, por medio de un análisis teórico a la luz de los problemas identificados alrededor de la patente, tales como: discriminación de precios, investigación parcializada en ciertas enfermedades, poder de mercado ilimitado, barreras al desarrollo tecnológico nacional, altos …

Strategic Default In Joint Liability Groups: Evidence From A Natural Experiment In India, Xavier Gine, Karuna Krishnaswamy, Alejandro Ponce

Alejandro Ponce

Despite the high repayment rates claimed by microcredit programs around the world, some groups of borrowers eventually default and are subsequently disbanded. Exposure to common shocks and strategic default are reasons for the deterioration in group repayment but identification of the precise mechanism is difficult. In this paper we exploit an announcement issued by the Anjuman Committee of a town in southern India banning all Muslims from repaying their microfinance loans. Using administrative data we find that borrowers in Muslim-dominated groups have higher default rates after the announcement compared to the same borrowers with loans in Hindu-dominated groups. We conclude …

Coase Minus The Coase Theorem--Some Problems With Chicago Transaction Cost Analysis, Pierre Schlag

Pierre Schlag

In law as well as economics, the most well-known aspect of Coase’s “The Problem of Social Cost,” is the Coase Theorem. Over the decades, that particular notion has morphed into a crucial component of Chicago law and economics—namely, transaction cost analysis. In this Article, I deliberately bracket the Coase Theorem to show that “The Problem of Social Cost” contains far more interesting and unsettling lessons—both for law as well as for economics. Indeed, while Coase’s arguments clearly target the Pigouvian attempts to “improve on the market” through government correctives, there is, lurking in those arguments, a much more profound critique …

Patentes Como Límite A La Innovación Tecnológica, Katherine Florez Pinilla, Alejandro Perez Y Soto Domínguez

KATHERINE FLOREZ PINILLA

El presente artículo pretende analizar, desde el marco de la Escuela Austriaca, la propiedad intelectual reflejada en las patentes, entendidas como un mecanismo del legislador para incentivar una conducta empresarial que propenda por la innovación y el desarrollo tecnológico. Se tomó como caso las patentes en el sector farmacéutico, obteniendo a partir de éste evidencia empírica la corroboración de las hipótesis de la escuela, por medio de un análisis teórico a la luz de los problemas identificados alrededor de la patente, tales como: discriminación de precios, investigación parcializada en ciertas enfermedades, poder de mercado ilimitado, barreras al desarrollo tecnológico nacional, …

Airline Network Effects And Consumer Welfare, Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Mark Israel, Bryan Keating, Bobby Willig

Daniel L. Rubinfeld

In this paper we develop a methodology to quantify the value to consumers of the non-price characteristics of airline networks. Our research demonstrates that analyses that ignore the quality effects associated with expanded airline networks generate incorrect findings and thus should not form the basis for policy decisions regarding airline transactions. Appropriately incorporating quality effects into quality-adjusted fares reverses the conclusion that hub airports yield lower consumer welfare due to generally higher fares than other airports. From the perspective of consumer welfare in this industry, to evaluate potential airline mergers, alliances, slot swaps or other transactions, one should not focus …

Contract Law And Modern Economic Theory, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

From Plastic Trees To Arrow's Theorem, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Metaethics, Cognitive Neuroscience, Moral Psychology, And Behavioral Economics: The Use Of Ethical Intuition In Legal Compliance For Business Entities, Eric C. Chaffee

Eric C. Chaffee

This article challenges the widely held view in legal education and in practice that what lawyers should be doing in providing legal advice consists solely of engaging in legal research and analytic reasoning. This article suggests that ethical intuition—i.e., the unconscious recognition that a specific action is good, evil, or morally neutral—may have a useful role to play in making legal compliance decisions for business entities.

Although largely ignored by the legal academy, scholars in numerous disciplines have acknowledged the role that intuition plays in decision making. Philosophers and religious scholars initially recognized role of intuition in moral decision making …

Open Data As A Foundation For Innovation: The Enabling Effect Of Free Public Sector Information For Entrepreneurs, Erik Lakomaa, Jan Kallberg

Jan Kallberg

Public open data access has a direct impact on future IT entrepreneurs' perception of ability to execute their business plans. Using high quality (50%–98% response rate) survey data from 138 Swedish IT-entrepreneurs, we find that access to public open data is considered very important for many IT-startups; 43% find open data essential for the realization of their business plan and 82% claim that access would support and strengthen the business plan. The survey also indicates a significant interest in, and willingness to pay for, public sector information data from companies that do not intend to commercialize data themselves but intend …

Licensure Of Health Care Professionals: The Consumer's Case For Abolition, Charles H. Baron

Charles H. Baron

While state medical licensure laws ostensibly are intended to promote worthwhile goals, such as the maintenance of high standards in health care delivery, this Article argues that these laws in practice are detrimental to consumers. The Article takes the position that licensure contributes to high medical care costs and stifles competition, innovation and consumer autonomy. It concludes that delicensure would expand the range of health services available to consumers and reduce patient dependency, and that these developments would tend to make medical practice more satisfying to consumers and providers of health care services.

Too Complex To Perceive?: Drafting Cash Distribution Waterfalls Directly As Code To Reduce Complexity And Legal Risk In Structured Finance, Master Limited Partnership, And Private Equity Transactions, Ralph Carter Mayrell

Ralph Carter Mayrell

The intricate procedural and data-driven decision trees that play a critical role in complex financial contracts like cash distribution waterfalls in structured finance agreement indentures (e.g., collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)), master limited partnership agreements, and private equity fund agreements are inefficiently depicted as written contracts. As Professor Henry Hu explains in Too Complex to Depict?, the difficulty of translation—or depiction—between original mathematical models, plain English prospectuses, legal contracts, and programmed execution means that often the written depictions that form the basis of disclosures do not accurately define the act of execution. To overcome this, the SEC proposed an amendment to …

Voice Without Say: Why Capital-Managed Firms Aren’T (Genuinely) Participatory, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Why are most capitalist enterprises of any size organized as authoritarian bureaucracies rather than incorporating genuine employee participation that would give the workers real authority? Even firms with employee participation programs leave virtually all decision-making power in the hands of management. The standard answer is that hierarchy is more economically efficient than any sort of genuine participation, so that participatory firms would be less productive and lose out to more traditional competitors. This answer is indefensible. After surveying the history, legal status, and varieties of employee participation, I examine and reject as question-begging the argument that the rarity of genuine …

Women's Pay In Australia, Great Britain And The United States: Commentary, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] My reaction to this paper is mixed. On the one hand, it represents one of the few serious efforts I know of to place discussions about comparable worth in a comparative perspective and to bring evidence from other countries' experiences into the debate about policy in the United States. For this the authors should be resoundingly applauded. On the other hand, I am left with the feeling that they have not pushed their empirical analyses as hard as they might have, and because of this, in places they may have drawn some inappropriate conclusions. My discussion will elaborate on …

Present At The Creation: Reflections On The Early Years Of The National Association Of Corporate Directors, Lawrence J. Trautman

Lawrence J. Trautman Sr.

Effective corporate governance is critical to the productive operation of the global economy and preservation of our way of life. Excellent governance execution is also required to achieve economic growth and robust job creation in any country. In the United States, the premier director membership organization is the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Now over 36 years old, NACD plays a major role in fostering excellence in corporate governance in the United States and beyond. Over the past thirty-six years NACD has grown from a mere realization of the importance of corporate governance to become the only national membership …

An Economic Survey Analysis Of The Legal Literature Pertaining To The Privacy Implications Of Radio Frequency Identification Technology, Stephen M. Jerbic

Stephen M. Jerbic

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Attractiveness Of Research To Female Faculty, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] CSWEP has long been concerned about the underrepresentation of women in faculty positions at major research universities. I have been charged by the committee with enumerating a set of policies that might enhance the attractiveness of research universities to female faculty. After presenting some data that suggest the magnitude of the underrepresentation problem, I do so below. In each case, I sketch the pros and cons of the policy. Although the focus is on increasing the attractiveness of research universities to female faculty, many of the policies would increase the attractiveness of academic careers per se to new female …

A Theory Without A Movement, A Hope Without A Name: The Future Of Marxism In A Post-Marxist World, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Just as Marx's insights into capitalism have been most strikingly vindicated by the rise of neoliberalism and the near-collapse of the world economy, Marxism as social movement has become bereft of support. Is there any point in people who find Marx's analysis useful in clinging to the term "Marxism" - which Marx himself rejected -- at time when self-identified Marxist organizations and societies have collapsed or renounced the identification, and Marxism own working class constituency rejects the term? I set aside bad reasons to give on "Marxism," such as that the theory is purportedly refuted, that its adoption leads necessarily …

Inviabilidad Del Sistema Pensional Colombiano (Por Segmentación De Mercado), Fernando Castillo Cadena

Fernando Castillo Cadena

No abstract provided.

Snopa And The Ppa: Do You Know What It Means For You? If Snopa (Social Networking Online Protection Act) Or Ppa (Password Protection Act) Do Not Pass, The Snooping Could Cause You Trouble, Angela Goodrum

Angela Goodrum

No abstract provided.

Sana Competencia, Jose Luis Sardon

Jose Luis Sardon

Sana competencia entre el Perú y Chile debe ayudar a ambos países en su camino al desarrollo.

Democracy, Law And Global Finance: An Example Of A Research Agenda For A New Practice Of Law And Economics, Tamara Lothian

Tamara Lothian

No abstract provided.

Compra Inconstitucional, Jose Luis Sardon

Jose Luis Sardon

Compra de activos de Repsol violará artículo 60° de la Constitución.

Reformando Las Telecomunicaciones, Víctor Pavón-Villamayor

Víctor Pavón-Villamayor

No abstract provided.

Thatcher Y Los Impuestos, Jose Luis Sardon

Jose Luis Sardon

Hoy en El Comercio: Margaret Thatcher liberalizó economía británica, pero no pudo sustituir, a nivel de los gobiernos locales, impuestos progresivos por un impuesto per cápita.

Why The Nra Fights Background Checks, John J. Donohue

John Donohue

"We think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere for anyone." Did President Barack Obama say that? No, that's from an advertisement taken out by the NRA in USA Today in 1999.

But a more powerful NRA today is in no mood to follow the slogan of their "be reasonable" ad campaign of 14 years ago. This relatively small group -- the NRA boasts that it has 4.5 million members, which is peanuts compared to the roughly 40 million AARP members -- might have the political power to …

Negative Externalities And Subprime Auto Financing: Time To Let The Hanging Paragraph Go(2), Chunlin Leonhard

Chunlin Leonhard

Economists generally agree that when private transactions generate negative externalities (i.e. unintended harmful byproduct), government intervention is potentially necessary. Negative externalities are considered socially inefficient because they destroy market supply and demand equilibrium. The existence of negative externalities is therefore one of those rare occasions when government intervention in private transactions is justified. It follows that when the government does choose to intervene, its goal should be to remedy, not to encourage, negative externalities. This article identifies one bankruptcy rule, commonly known as the Hanging Paragraph in the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(9), that violates the basic principle of …

When The Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties And Bounded Rational Learning, Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen, Emma Aisbett

Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen

Using the international investment regime as its point of departure, the paper introduces notions of bounded rationality to the study of economic diplomacy. Through a multi-method approach, it shows that developing countries often ignored the risks of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) until they themselves became subject to an investment treaty claim. Thus the behavior of developing country governments with regard to the international investment regime is consistent with that observed for individuals in experiments and field studies: they tend to ignore high-impact, low-probability risks if they cannot bring specific ‘vivid’ instances to mind.

Are People Probabilistically Challenged? Book Review Of Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast And Slow (2011), Alex Stein

Alex Stein

Daniel Kahneman’s recent book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, is a must-read for any scholar and policymaker interested in behavioral economics. Thus far, behavioral economists did predominantly experimental work that uncovered discrete manifestations of people’s bounded rationality: representativeness, availability, anchoring, overoptimism, base-rate neglect, hindsight bias, loss aversion, and other misevaluations of probability and utility. This work has developed no causal explanations for these misevaluations. Kahneman’s book takes the discipline to a different level by developing an integrated theory of bounded rationality’s causes and characteristics. This theory holds that humans use two distinct modes of reasoning, intuitive (System 1) and deliberative (System …