Law Commons^™

The Transatlantic Gmo Dispute Against The European Communities: Some Preliminary Thoughts, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

Any day now, a World Trade Organization panel is expected to rule in a dispute between the U.S. and the EU concerning market access for genetically-engineered foods and crops. This piece, written before the release of the WTO panel's report, analyzes novel systemic issues concerning the impact of WTO law on regulatory design, at both the national and international levels, that are raised by this dispute. These include (1) the application of WTO disciplines to regulatory schemes that require prior governmental approval to protect the environment and public health from newly-introduced products and substances; (2) the role of precaution as …

Legitimacy, Accountability, And Partnership: A Model For Advocacy On Third World Environmental Issues, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

To date, there has been little effort to define the characteristics of responsible environmental reform efforts by private citizens and organizations in the United States on foreign environmental problems, such as the quality of foreign aid. Moreover, there have been virtually no attempts to identify a principled role for American lawyers in Third World environmental issues. This Essay will respond to these lacunae by articulating a new approach to advocacy based on a partnership model. In Part I, this Essay identifies the need for American public interest advocates to establish partnerships with directly affected groups on Third World environmental issues. …

Restoring The Natural Law: Copyright As Labor And Possession, Alfred C. Yen

Alfred C. Yen

In this Article, Professor Yen explores the problems associated with viewing copyright solely as a tool for achieving economic efficiency and advocates for the restoration of natural law to copyright jurisprudence. The Article demonstrates that economics has not been solely responsible for copyright’s development and basic structure, but has rather developed along lines suggested by neutral law, despite modern copyright jurisprudence. The Article considers the consequences of extinguishing copyright’s natural law facets in favor of the blind pursuit of efficiency and concludes by exploring the implications of restoring natural law thinking to copyright jurisprudence.

Is Free Trade "Free?" Is It Even "Trade?" Oppression And Consent In Hemispheric Trade Agreements, Frank J. Garcia

Frank J. Garcia

In order for free trade as a policy to deliver fully on its social promise, it must be both “free” and “trade.” In fact, it must be free, in the sense of voluntary, to be trade at all. In other words, for normative and practical reasons, free trade requires that global economic relations be structured through agreements which reflect the consent of those subject to them. The neoliberal trading system today only imperfectly lives up to this obligation. In this essay, I will examine the role of consent in trade agreements, drawing on examples from CAFTA as representative of important …

The ‘Fair’ Trade Law Of Nations, Or A ‘Fair’ Global Law Of Economic Relations?, Frank J. Garcia

Frank J. Garcia

No abstract provided.

The Moral Hazard Problem In Global Economic Regulation, Frank J. Garcia

Frank J. Garcia

Global regulation of international business transactions presents a particular form of the moral hazard problem. Global firms use economic and political power to manipulate state and state-controlled multilateral regulation to preserve their opportunity to externalize the social costs of global economic activity with impunity. Unless other actors can effectively counter this at the national and global regulatory levels, globalization re-creates the conditions for under-regulated or “robber baron” capitalism at the global level. This model of economic activity has been rejected at the national level by the same modern democratic capitalist states which currently dominate globalization, creating a crisis of legitimacy …

Through The Looking Glass: Understanding Social Science Norms For Analyzing International Investment Law, Susan Franck, Calvin Garbin, Jenna Perkins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

When social science methods are being employed in a new context — such as the assessment of international investment law — there is value in exploring the underlying assumptions and normative baselines of the enterprise. This article and response address critiques about the methodology of an article in the Harvard International Law Journal by: (1) describing the value of social science in international investment law; (2) replicating the research using new methodologies to conduct more than 20 new tests that were still unable to ascertain the existence of a reliable relationship between development status and outcomes on the basis of …

Presentación: El Razonamiento Heurístico Y Algunas Implicaciones En El Análisis Económico Del Derecho, Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

Presentación efectuada en ALACDE del artículo "EL RAZONAMIENTO HEURÍSTICO Y ALGUNAS IMPLICACIONES EN EL ANÁLISIS ECONÓMICO DEL DERECHO: El caso de las normas sobre donación de órganos humanos"

El Razonamiento Heurístico Y Algunas Implicaciones En El Análisis Económico Del Derecho: El Caso De Las Normas Sobre Donación De Órganos Humanos V2, Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

The following article contributes to the latest discussions and judgments that have taken place on the more important postulates of the Economic Analysis of Law. It exists an even nascent line of thought in economics that has accordingly questioned the behaviors of the individuals in the real world; this nascent movement is known as the “Behavioral Economics”, which through the “heuristics” and other hypotheses states a series of contrary ideas to the ones that the neoclassical economics have defended for more than a century.

All the preceding has an evident effect regarding the Economic Analysis of Law. Understanding this situation …

Análisis Económico De La Contratación Pública En Colombia: El Régimen De Contratación Estatal En Colombia Como Herramienta Para La Satisfacción Simultanea De Intereses Particulares Y Colectivos., Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es evaluar si el actual estatuto de contratación pública en Colombia (Ley 80 de 1993), representa un marco regulatorio adecuado para lograr simultáneamente los fines estatales, así como para satisfacer los interés de los particulares que contratan con las diferentes entidades públicas. Se propone que la coexistencia entre los fines propios del Estado y aquellos estrechamente vinculados con el interés individual es viable, sin embargo, esta hipótesis difícilmente se puede sustentar desde la perspectiva de la economía neoclásica (la Escuela de Chicago), contrario a ello, un enfoque alternativo (v.g. el propio de la Nueva …

Presentación: Análisis Económico De La Contratación Estatal, Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

Presentación del artículo "ANÁLISIS ECONÓMICO DE LA CONTRATACIÓN PÚBLICA EN COLOMBIA: El régimen de contratación estatal en Colombia como herramienta para la satisfacción simultanea de intereses particulares y colectivos." En el marco del coloquio ¿Qué intereses económicos protege la regulación"

Presentación: Esquemas De Intervención De Precios En Colombia, Daniel Monroy, Mario A. Pinzón

Daniel A Monroy C

Presentación de los esquemas de intervención de precios en Colombia en el marco del Centro de Estudios "Impacto del Nuevo Sistema de Información de Costos Eficientes en materia de Transporte"

Teoría Prospectiva, Efecto Marco Y Los Mensajes De Disuasión De Consumo De Tabaco En Colombia, Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

The main target of this reflex paper is to explain some ideas about behavioral economics, such as the Prospect Theory and the framing effect, as well as its possible implications for the law, especially in the context of tobacco control law in Colombia and the current package warning labels. The paper concludes that these warnings have the potential to reduce the tobacco consumption. However the effectiveness of these messages could be increased if the information is reframed in an alternative way.

This paper is based in other one called: "ANÁLISIS ECONÓMICO-CONDUCTUAL DE LA REGULACIÓN ANTITABACO EN COLOMBIA: El efecto marco …

Aplicaciones Prácticas Del Behavioral Law And Economics: ¿Superando Sesgos Cognitivos?, Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

En las últimas décadas los postulados del Law and Economics tradicional han venido sufriendo una serie de acotaciones por parte de los académicos de las denominadas ciencias conductuales. A pesar de las pruebas empíricas que se ofrecen para sustentar las objeciones elevadas, un sector tradicionalista se empeña, una y otra vez, en alegar la poca utilidad de esta visión alternativa. Es por esta razón que se reseñarán algunas de sus posibles aplicaciones.

Richard Posner Meets Reb Chaim Of Brisk: A Comparative Study In The Founding Of Intellectual Legal Movements, Samuel J. Levine

Samuel J. Levine

Of the various movements that have surfaced in American legal theory in recent decades, law and economics has emerged as perhaps the most influential, leading some to characterize it as the dominant contemporary mode of analysis among American legal scholars. In this essay, Levine considers law and economics in the context of a comparative discussion of another prominent intellectual legal movement, the Brisker method of Talmudic analysis, which originated in Eastern Europe in the late nineteenth century and quickly developed into a leading method of theoretical study of Jewish law. The Brisker method takes its name from the city of …

The Icsid Effect? Considering Potential Variations In Arbitration Awards, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The legitimacy of the World Bank's dispute resolution body - The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) - is a matter of heated debate. Some states have alleged that ICSID is biased, withdrawn from the ICSID Convention, and advocated creating alternative arbitration systems. Using pre-2007 archival data of the population of then- known arbitration awards, this Article quantitatively assesses whether ICSID arbitration awards were substantially different from arbitration awards rendered in other forums. The Article examines variation in the amounts claimed and outcomes reached to evaluate indicators of bias. The results indicated that there was no reliable …

Debate - Incumplir, O No Incumplir, He Allí El Dilema: Análisis De La Teoría Del Incumplimiento Eficiente, Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

Se compartió la mesa con el profesor Christian Chávez, en nuestra presentación se expusieron algunos de los defectos en los que incurre la citada teoría y sobre todo las inconsistencias que tiene dentro de los sistemas del civil law, sin evitar presentar los problemas que ella enfrenta aún dentro de su propio sistema jurídico de origen.

Presentación: Calabresi Y Melamed: Introducción A Las Reglas De La Catedral., Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

Presentación introductoria a las reglas de protección de titularidades defendidas por Calabresi y Melamed en su paper "Reglas de propiedad, reglas de responsabilidad y reglas de inalienabilidad: Un vistazo a la catedral"

Coase, Institutionalism, And The Origins Of Law And Economics, Herbert Hovenkamp

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Análisis Económico-Conductual De La Regulación Antitabaco En Colombia: El Efecto Marco Y La Fuerza De Voluntad Limitada, Daniel Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

This paper explains some ideas about behavioral economics, such as the framing effect and the bounded willpower, and its possible implications for the law, especially in the context of tobacco control law in Colombia. The paper concludes that the current warnings on cigarette packages have the potential to reduce the tobacco consumption. However the effectiveness of these messages could be increased if the information is reframed; likewise, the paper shows that the legal ban of cigarette retail market, doesn’t weigh up the negative consequences of bounded willpower, which can lead paradoxically to encourage smoking.

Rlt: A Preliminary Examination Of Religious Legal Theory As A Movement, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Collective Choice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

This short nontechnical article reviews the Arrow Impossibility Theorem and its implications for rational democratic decisionmaking. In the 1950s, economist Kenneth J. Arrow proved that no method for producing a unique social choice involving at least three choices and three actors could satisfy four seemingly obvious constraints that are practically constitutive of democratic decisionmaking. Any such method must violate such a constraint and risks leading to disturbingly irrational results such and Condorcet cycling. I explain the theorem in plain, nonmathematical language, and discuss the history, range, and prospects of avoiding what seems like a fundamental theoretical challenge to the possibility …

Uncertainty Regarding Interpretation Of The `Negligence Rule' And Its Implications For The Efficiency Of Outcomes, Satish K. Jain

Satish K. Jain

There are two ways that the negligence rule is interpreted. Under one interpretation a negligent injurer is liable for the entire harm to the victim; and under the other interpretation a negligent injurer is liable only for that part of the harm which can be ascribed to his negligence. Both these versions are efficient. However, if there is uncertainty regarding whether the court will be employing the full liability version or the incremental liability version for determining the liability of a negligent injurer, notwithstanding the fact that both the versions are efficient, inefficiency is possible. In the paper necessary and …

The Structure Of Efficient Liability Rules, Satish K. Jain

Satish K. Jain

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. One, to obtain a complete characterization of efficient liability rules within the framework of a model which is essentially the standard tort model with only some minor differences; but with a liability rule notion more general than the standard one. It is shown in the paper that the subclass of efficient liability rules is characterized by the conjunction of two conditions, namely, the condition of negligence liability and the requirement of non-reward for over-nonnegligence. Negligence liability requires that if one party is exactly nonnegligent and the other party is negligent then the negligent …

The External Effects Of Black-Male Incarceration On Black Females, Stéphane Mechoulan

Stéphane Mechoulan

This paper examines how the increase in the incarceration of Black men and the sex ratio imbalance it induces shape the behavior of young Black women. Combining data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Current Population Survey to match male incarceration rates with individual observations over two decades, I show that Black male incarceration lowers the odds of Black non-marital teenage fertility while increasing young Black women's school attainment and early employment. These results can account for the sharp bridging of the racial gap over the 1990s for a range of socio-economic outcomes among females.

Innovations In Governance: A Functional Typology Of Private Governance Institutions, Tracey M. Roberts

Tracey M Roberts

Communities are increasingly looking to private governance institutions, rather than formal government, to set public policy and to manage the environmental and social impacts of globalization. Private governance institutions, sets of rules and structures for governing without government, remain undertheorized despite an expanding literature. Questions remain about why they have arisen, what functions they serve, and whether they are effective. This article advances that literature in several ways. First, the article outlines the inherent limitations of the conventional taxonomy, which groups these institutions based on the identity of their constituent organizations (business interests, civil society, and government entities and their …

Problemas Actuales De Seguridad Social: La Pensión De Vejez En El Régimen De Ahorro Individual, Fernando Castillo Cadena

Fernando Castillo Cadena

Como un aporte a la discusión actual, el presente libro busca mostrar el diseño jurídico, económico y financiero de la pensión de vejez en el régimen de ahorro individual, con el fin de mostrar sus verdaderos efectos, intentando vencer los prejuicios que sobre dicho régimen se han creado.

La Declaratoria De Invalidez Como Requisito De Acceso A La Pensión En El Sistema General De Pensiones, Fernando Castillo Cadena

Fernando Castillo Cadena

The legal aspects of social security disability benefits along with an analysis of the current structure of such benefits under Colombian Law are presented throughout this document in order to make a research proposal that takes into account the date when the disability is declared as the date in which disability benefits are granted and in some cases the date when the disability is structured around.

Antitrust Review Of The At&T/T-Mobile Transaction, Maurice E. Stucke, Allen Grunes

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

In this Essay, we review AT&T Inc.’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, Inc., under federal merger law, under the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission’s 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines, and with a focus on possible remedies. We find, under a rule of law approach, that the proposed acquisition is presumptively anticompetitive, and the merging parties in their public disclosures have failed to overcome this presumption. Next we find that under the Merger Guidelines, there is reason to believe that the transaction may result in higher prices to consumers under several different plausible theories. Finally, we turn …

Optimal Class Size, Opt-Out Rights, And "Indivisible" Remedies, Jay Tidmarsh, David Betson

Journal Articles

Prepared for a Symposium on the ALI’s Aggregate Litigation Project, this paper examines the ALI’s proposal to permit opt-out rights when remedies and “divisible,” but not to permit them when remedies are “indivisible.” Starting from the ground up, the paper employs economic analysis to determine what the optimal size of a class action should be. We demonstrate that, in some circumstances, the optimal size of a class is a class composed of all victims, while in other cases, the optimal size is smaller. We further argue that courts should consider optimal class size in determining whether to certify a class, …