Law and Economics Commons^™

Regulation Of Business - Robinson-Patman Act - A Further Look At Functional Discounts, Richard R. Dailey S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Probably no sphere of governmental regulation of business in the United States has caused more concern or created more confusion than the attempted regulation of pricing practices. This problem has arisen, in part, because of the peculiar tendencies of certain segments of the American economy toward expansion and vertical integration and, also in part, because of the adoption of ambiguous and prejudicial legislation designed as a cure-all for allegedly harmful pricing practices. In addition, the attitude of the courts and the Federal Trade Commission in this field has been far from consistent over the years, with the result that neither …

Rationale Of Valuation Of Foreign Money Obligations, Charles Evan

Michigan Law Review

What then should a creditor of a foreign money obligation collect where there was a delay in payment? When are damages for depreciation of foreign money recoverable? As of what time and in what currency are they to be computed? How is the value of a foreign money obligation to be measured where no damages may be had? The answers to these and other incidental questions require a thorough analysis of certain features peculiar to the law of money.

It is the purpose of this article to clarify these problems, to sum up the primary principles by which they are …

The Antitrust Laws In Foregin Commerce, Robert A. Nitschke

Michigan Law Review

The Sherman Act applies to trade or commerce "with foreign nations." Are there differences in the act's application to foreign trade compared with its application to domestic commerce? The Attorney General's National Committee to Study the Antitrust Laws was constituted at a time when this question was pressing for an answer.

During the 1920's and 1930's, the international cartel movement was in full Hood. American companies participated in some of these international arrangements, often in the belief that they were a necessary condition for world trade and upon the legal premise that restrictions adjunctive to patent and know-how licenses were …

Antitrust Policy In Distribution, Kendall B. Debevoise

Michigan Law Review

The American genius lies quite as much in distribution as in manufacturing. Other peoples have demonstrated equal or greater creative ability in many fields. And it is debatable whether their talents are any less at mass production given adequate economic demand. But they have nowhere shown the American genius for distribution. It is axiomatic that if you manufacture in Detroit and your potential customer lives in New York, you need mutual friends. We seem to have figured out better ways to provide better friends for this purpose than any other nation.

But manufacturing came first. Someone had to build a …

Product Competition In The Relevant Market Under The Sherman Act, David Macdonald

Michigan Law Review

The correct delimitation of the relevant market is the problem to be examined here. First the legal development of market concepts will be traced. Then, with the objective of coalescing the legal and economic concepts of .the market, a test will be proposed with which to measure the correct market in any given case.

Federal Taxation: Perspective During The Fifth Decade, J. W. Riehm

Michigan Law Review

Since the enactment of the income tax provisions of the Tariff Act of October 3, 1913 forty years have elapsed within which we have seen a profound change in the revenue system of our federal government, the growth of a great new branch of public law, the development of a highly specialized field of legal practice and the publication in legal periodicals of innumerable articles on the subject of taxation. Tax men can, with great pride, point out that technical proficiency has done an amazing job of keeping pace with the rapid expansion of the system from the utilization of …

The Seaman As Ward Of The Admiralty, Martin J. Norris

Michigan Law Review

The seaman has a peculiar status in American law. He is in most instances a mature individual, sui juris, and therefore capable of entering into his own contracts but nonetheless his contractual dealings with shipmasters and owners are as carefully watched by our admiralty courts as though he were a minor or a young heir. He is in contemplation of the maritime law a ward of the admiralty courts.

The seaman's position in a legal and economic sense is unique. Singled out by the Congress of the United States as one of a class of workers requiring special consideration …

Regulation Of Business - Proof Of Seller's Costs In Robinson-Patman Act Buyer Proceedings, Arthur M. Wisehart S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The purposes of this comment are to analyze the holding of the Court in the Automatic Canteen case and to relate the language of the opinion to the more general problem of defining the extent of buyer responsibility under section 2(f). As a preliminary matter, however, it is necessary to examine the pertinent statutory provisions. Section 2(f) of the Robinson-Patman Act makes it unlawful for buyers in interstate commerce" ... knowingly to induce or receive a · discrimination in price which is prohibited by this section." In other words, it prohibits buyers from knowingly inducing or receiving the benefit of …

Equity-Specific Performance-Decrease In Money Value Subsequent To The Inception Of An Option Contract Is Not Hardship, Harry T. Baumann S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln 1940 defendant leased his property to the plaintiff for ten years with an option to purchase for $25,000 at any time within the term of the lease. One month before the lease expired, the plaintiff gave defendant notice of his election to exercise the option. Defendant claimed that, subsequent to exercise of the option, a fair bid of $35,000 had been made by a third party and, therefore, he was not required to convey. In an action for specific performance, the trial court held that the subsequent bid was of no effect under the contract, and the plaintiff was …

Brownell: Legal Aid In The United States., Glenn R. Winters

Michigan Law Review

A Review of LEGAL AID IN THE UNITED STATES. By Emery A. Brownell.

Job-Seeking Aggression, The Nlra, And The Free Market, Sylvester Petro

Michigan Law Review

Two principles are at war in modem labor relations. One, the principle of free choice of employee representation, underlies all modem labor relations legislation. The other, the principle of absolute proprietary rights in certain work, manifests itself in the traditional jurisdictional dispute but occurs in a broader context as well. The labor relations principle, an attempt to order relations between employers and employees on a civilized basis, requires collective bargaining between employers and the representatives of their employees and further declares that the selection of representatives by employees shall be free of coercive interference by employers. Job-seeking aggression, combatting this …

Commentary On General Relief Under The Excess Profits Tax Act Of 1950, Thomas N. Tarleau

Michigan Law Review

Analysis of an excess profits tax involves inquiries which are essentially foreign to the concepts of ordinary income taxation. The question of excess profits arises only after taxable income has been defined and characterized, its recipients determined and the time of receipt established. The problem is to divide taxable income into two components, one representing the corporation's normal profits, which it is permitted to enjoy free of the penalty tax, and the balance which is deemed to be "profits due to the outbreak of hostilities and to large military expenditures." Under the Excess Profits Tax Act of 1950, as was …

Hardman & Neufeld: The House Of Labor, Morris D. Forkosch

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE HOUSE OF LABOR. By J.B. S. Hardman and Maurice F. Neufeld.

Hayes: The Historical Evolution Of Modern Nationalism., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF MODERN NATIONALISM. By Carlton J. H. Hayes.

Pashukanis And Vyshinsky: A Study In The Development Of Marxian Legal Theory, Lon L. Fuller

Michigan Law Review

Reading Andrei Y. Vyshinsky's The Law of the Soviet Union ought to be a stimulating and rewarding experience. It is an exposition. of Soviet legal philosophy and of the theory and practice of Soviet public or "state" law. Throughout it purports to compare the premises that underlie Soviet law with those on which ''bourgeois" legal systems are based. Vyshinsky, a famous world figure and the present minister for foreign affairs of the U.S.S.R., wrote part of the book and supervised compiliation of the remainder. The decision of the American Council of Learned Societies to sponsor a translation of the work …

Harris: Saving American Capitalism, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of SAVING AMERICAN CAPITALISM. Edited by Seymour E. Harris.

Machlup: The Basing Point System, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE BASING POINT SYSTEM. By Fritz Machlup

Lauterbach: Economic Security And Individual Freedom: Can We Have Both?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of ECONOMIC SECURITY AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM: CAN WE HAVE BOTH? By Albert Lauterbach.

Simons: Economic Policy For A Free Society., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of ECONOMIC POLICY FOR A FREE SOCIETY. By Henry Simons.

Harris: The European Recovery Program, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE EUROPEAN RECOVERY PROGRAM. By Seymour Harris.

Mortgages--"Depression Jurisprudence" --Remaining Effects In Statutory Law, John F. Buchman, Iii S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Periods of economic depression, to a far greater degree than more prosperous times, bring into sharp conflict the competing interests of debtor and creditor. This conflict becomes especially apparent in the field of mortgage law. The mortgagee-creditor wants to enforce payment of the debt according to the terms of the contract, taking advantage of the security for which he bargained. The mortgagor-debtor is anxious to protect, if possible, his own investment in the mortgaged property. Because of the vast number of cases which occurred during the 1930's in which it appeared unduly harsh and inequitable to accord mortgagees their traditional …

Lester And Shister: Insights Into Labor Issues, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of INSIGHTS INTO LABOR ISSUES. Edited by Richard A. Lester and Joseph Shister.

Rostow: A National Policy For The Oil Industry., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of A NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE OIL INDUSTRY. By Eugene V. Rostow.

Economic Duress -- An Essay In Perspective, John P. Dawson

Michigan Law Review

The boundaries of common law duress have been gradually expanding for more than a century. The processes of expansion are themselves of interest, as illustrating methods of growth in a system of case law. More important is the goal toward which this movement aims. For it is through duress and related ideas that private law has dealt most directly with problems raised by inequality in bargaining power. Particularly in the field now known as economic duress, courts have been compelled to take a stand on that central issue of modern politics, the control of economic power. Both the growth in …

Labor Law-Some Developments During The Past Five Years-(A Service For Returning Veterans), Russell A. Smith

Michigan Law Review

It will be helpful in appraising labor relations problems of today to recall that unionism in this country has trodden a rough and thorny path over the past century. Unions were not welcomed by employers, worker inertia itself was a considerable obstacle, and by and large the general public was dubious as to the value of unionism. Facing these difficulties unions from the- beginning felt compelled to resort to self-help--the strike, the picket line, the boycott, etc.--to achieve their aims. In so doing they encountered vigorous and successful opposition in the courts, as injured economic interests, and even the government, …

Constitutional Law--Impairment Of Obligation Of Contract--Mortgage Moratorium--Determination Of The Existence Of An Emergency, George Brody

Michigan Law Review

In 1943 the New York State Legislature extended its moratorium legislation for another year, thereby continuing the suspension of mortgage foreclosure proceedings on real property due to default in payments on principal. The legislature declared that an emergency still existed and therefore the continuance of legislative action, first taken in 1933, was justified. The law made payment of interest, taxes, insurance and amortization charges a prerequisite to suspension of foreclosure. Appellant brought an action to foreclose a mortgage on appellee's property for the non-payment of principal, contending that the suspension of foreclosure proceedings resulted in an impairment of the obligation …

Aspects Of Wage Stabilization By The National War Labor Board, David Haber

Michigan Law Review

Most economists assume that behind an unrestricted war economy lurk the dangers of inflation. Although national income increases, so much of the country's productive effort is devoted to the manufacture of war goods that the number of articles available for civilian consumption necessarily diminishes. This gap between the available supply and the existing purchasing power has the effect of raising prices. Rising wages aggravate this situation because they increase production costs which are then passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices, and because, by further increasing the purchasing power of the population, they increase the gap …

Termination Of War Contracts: The Contract Settlement Act Of 1944, David A. Goldman

Michigan Law Review

Enacted with a background of knowledge gained from the termination of more than 25,000 army and navy contracts having an uncompleted value of approximately $17,000,000,000, the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 was the first of the legislative enactments by which Congress seeks to control the possibility of a rising tide of economic difficulties which might otherwise drown the body politic in a flood of cancellation notices. The passage of the act was preceded by extensive public hearings and debates, during which responsible Government officials and leaders of labor and industry expressed their considered opinions. Congress likewise had the benefit of …

Renegotiation Of War Contracts, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

The limitation of war profits to fair and reasonable levels and the purchase of war goods at fair prices are essential to the successful prosecution of the war. These problems come as a part of war and must be solved just as surely as tactical problems in battle. Exorbitant profits and prices spell defeat to any nation, for they point the way to inflation and economic collapse. In modern war the difference between defeat and victory lies ultimately in the economic strength of the countries involved. The lessons of history have shown us that no nation can achieve and maintain …

Price Control - Problems Of The Over-All Ceiling - Rent Control - Rationing, Samuel D. Estep, George T. Schilling, James L. Mccrystal

Michigan Law Review

Three months after the passage of the Emergency Price Control Act a partial and selective approach to the problem of price control has been abandoned and a comprehensive over-all ceiling has been put into effect. The economic forces generated by total war have quickly proved too powerful for the limited controls originally planned. As a result, a sweeping program of governmental control over the economic life of the nation has been instituted, with consequences too complex and far-reaching to be foreseen in any detail.