Law Commons^™

Single Subject Rules And Public Choice Theory, Michael Gilbert

ExpressO

Despite generating thousands of cases on important public issues, the single subject rule remains a source of confusion and inconsistency. The root of the problem lies in the inability to define the term “subject” using legal doctrine. This paper reexamines the single subject rule through the lens of public choice theory and finds that its purposes are wrongheaded. Logrolling is not necessarily harmful, and improving political transparency requires legislative compromises to be packaged together rather than spread across multiple acts. Riding is not a form of logrolling but an analytically distinct and more threatening practice. This analysis yields a precise, …

The Recognition Of Same-Sex Relationships: Comparative Institutional Analysis, Contested Social Goals, And Strategic Institutional Choice, Nancy J. Knauer

ExpressO

The emerging field of comparative institutional analysis (CIA) has much to offer public policy analysts. However, the failure of CIA to address the dynamic process through which social goals are articulated limits the scope of its application to the largely prescriptive pronouncements of legal scholars. By examining the movement for equal recognition of same-sex relationships, this Essay builds on the basic observations of CIA and introduces a new dimension, namely the dynamic process through which social goals are articulated and social change is pursued. The acknowledgment that the production of social goals involves institutional behavior, as well as multiple sites …

Fighting Fraud On Faith: Federal Securities Regulation And The Limits Of Disclosure, Shannon R. Selden

ExpressO

In the past ten years, Congress passed three major reform acts to address two diametrically opposed concerns: It first restrained what it believed was an excess of securities fraud litigation, then responded to an explosion of securities fraud. This Article contends that despite the competing provocations and ambitions of the reforms, they share an unwarranted adherence to the principle of disclosure as the best means to attack market malfeasance: The Article examines the basis for and consequences of that undeserved legislative fidelity. Applying behavioral economics and cultural theory to the recent legislation and its underpinnings, the Article concludes that a …

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

The Same Side Of Two Coins: The Peculiar Phenomenon Of Bet-Hedging In Campaign Finance, Jason Cohen

ExpressO

The paper addresses the propensity of large donors to give to competing candidates or competing party organizations during the same election cycle – for example, giving money to both Bush and Kerry during the 2004 presidential race – a practice here termed 'bet-hedging.' Bet-hedging is analyzed in strategic and game-theoretic terms. The paper explores the prevalence of bet-hedging, the possible motivations behind the practice, and the informational concerns surrounding it. The paper argues that bet-hedging, out of all donation practices, carries with it a uniquely strong implication of ex post favor-seeking: if a donor prefers one side over the other, …

The Ftc And State Action: Evolving Views On The Proper Role Of Government, John T. Delacourt, Todd Zywicki

George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series

The state action doctrine was born in an era of exceptional confidence in government, with governmental entities widely regarded as unbiased and conscientious defenders of the public interest. Over time, however, more cautious and skeptical theories of government began to gain sway. In particular, the school of thought known as “public choice” – which holds that governmental entities, like private firms, will act in their economic self-interest – began to influence both legal theory and competition policy. Indeed, a close examination of recent state action case law suggests that public choice thinking has driven a slow, but consistent, evolution of …

Are Public Sector Assets By Nature Insuitable For Financing Transnational Investments? , Lucien A. Rapp

ExpressO

Does the legal regime applicable to publicly owned assets constitute a policy instrument to protect public investment? In what way can this benefit public sector property ? Are the structures of the regime sufficiently well established to provide investors with enough certainty?

This paper aims to answer these questions by taking a trans-national perspective. The main concern is to resolve the problems of ownership or non-ownership of public sector assets in the context of financing trans-national investments.

This paper responds to this issue by examining (in two stages) the various consequences for trans-national investment; the first regarding the acquisition of …

The False Promise Of De-Regulation In Banking, Jonathan R. Macey

ExpressO

Jonathan R. Macey

The False Promise of De-Regulation in Banking

Abstract

This Article presents new approach to the concept of "deregulation" in financial services and particularly banking. Generally regulatory policy is thought to involve more or less straightforward choices between regulation and deregulation. Those most concerned with market failure and equality of outcomes favoring regulation and those with faith in markets and concerns about efficient outcomes favoring deregulation.

This Article shows that government regulation, sometimes in heavy doses, is necessary in order for private markets to function effectively. Consequently, government has in important role to play in fostering markets. The …