Law and Economics Commons^™

Fairness And Welfare From A Comparative Law Perspective, Horacio Spector

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This Article discusses the relative value of law and economics and moral philosophy to explain private law in both common law and civil law jurisdictions. It argues that the recent philosophical paradigm, which revolves around the ideas of fairness and autonomy, is intellectually continuous with the School of Rationalist Natural Law. Though this School has been directly influential on the development of civilian private law, its ascendancy on common law cannot be documented. Paradoxically, recent philosophical explanations of private law bear on common law, while legal philosophers in civil law jurisdictions still follow Kelsen's research agenda, which focuses on the …

What Legal Scholars Can Learn From Law And Economics, Anthony Ogus

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The starting point of this Article is Richard Posner's statement of regret (in 1975) that, in terms of legal scholarship, "normative analysis vastly preponderates over positive," and that this can be corrected by the economic analysis of law. I consider that the positive, predictive contribution of law and economics is still undervalued. Lawyers, practitioners and academics, have much to learn from economic analysis because so often they fail to understand the nature of the interaction between law and market phenomena. This Article explores three areas of analysis to justify this contention: the interplay between public and private incentive systems to …

Fuel Efficiency: The Disconnect Between Environmental Policy And Tax Policy, John J. Marciano

ExpressO

The recent high gas prices in America have intensified the debate over oil and gas efficiency, use, and reserves. As the national average for a gallon tops $2.10, Congress and the President strive to find a common position to foster energy independence, protect the environment, and bolster the struggling economy.

President Bush’s energy policy and recent Senate and House bills have not contemplated their effects on the environmental state of our nation or its impact on the internal revenue code. In this time of uncertainty, energy independence and measured use of resources may be at odds, but must we stray …

Solving The Punitive Damage Mismatch, Ari Behar

ExpressO

There are several reasons underlying the system of punitive damages. Application of these reasons to cases yields differing results. The reasons fall into two categories: those that support awarding additional damages to the plaintiff and those that support extracting more damages from the defendant. When the reasons in favor of extraction exceed those in favor of award, the award should be split between the plaintiff and a fund. This fund should be used to supplement awards when the reasons favoring award exceed those favoring extraction.

Modern Bootlegging And The Prohibition On Fair Prices: Last Call For The Repeal Of Pharmaceutical Price Gouging, Luke W. Cleland

ExpressO

This article discusses the recent passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Modernization and Improvement Act of 2003, and the executive and judicial decisions affecting the ability of the general public to access foreign pharmaceutical markets. The article examines the recent actions taken by the U.S. government, explore various state movements within the United States aimed at reducing pharmaceutical drug prices, outline the process of pharmaceutical drug prices in foreign countries, and advocate for a workable integration of all available mechanisms to feasibly reduce prescription drug prices for the benefit of both U.S. consumers and U.S. drug companies. As avenues to …

Extraterritoriality Of The Sherman Act And Deterrence Of Private International Cartels, John M. Connor

ExpressO

This paper argues that the facts in the vitamins cartel support decisions in the 2nd and DC circuits to permit wholly foreign direct buyers of globally cartelized products standing to sue in U.S. courts. Such an interpretation of the Sherman Act is justified by conduct that is essentially linked to the management of successful international cartels, namely, the prevention of geographic arbitrage. This paper shows that the degree of injuries imposed on U.S. consumers could not have occurred were it not for coordinated price increases in countries with weak or nonexistent anticartel laws. Moreover, this paper endeavors to demonstrate that, …

Human Development Challenges In Africa: A Rights-Based Approach, Dejo Olowu

San Diego International Law Journal

This paper examines this plethora of questions and attempts to move the theory of human development in Africa beyond the traditional confines of its macroeconomic and political propositions. The paper assesses the concept of human development within the broader discourse on the role of human rights in global development, highlighting the overall African context of the subject. Against the backdrop of remarkably increasing scholarly efforts aimed at establishing human development as a human rights question, this paper evaluates the capacity of existing and emerging human rights frameworks relevant to Africa, and identifies viable trajectories for result-oriented human development actions.

Using Architectural Constraints And Game Theory To Regulate International Cyberspace Behavior, Van N. Nguy

San Diego International Law Journal

The debate over whether cyberspace can or should be regulated is essentially dead. This is the conclusion being taught in law schools today. The battle between Judge Frank Easterbrook and Professor Lawrence Lessig over "laws" and "horses", infamous among cyberspace legal scholars, became irrelevant when geographically-based governments began regulating Internet related activities. However, debate over how the Internet should be regulated continues. One way of framing this debate is in terms of deciding how to regulate behavior in cyberspace. Professor Lessig postulated four kinds of constraints regulate behavior: (1) social norms, (2) markets, (3) law, and (4) architecture. This comment …

The New Partnership For Africa's Development: Institutional And Legal Challenges Of Investment Promotion, Victor Mosoti

San Diego International Law Journal

This paper is divided into five parts. Part I introduces NEPAD, its philosophical basis and objectives. Part II discusses the investment promotion role of NEPAD and its difference from past development thinking about Africa's problems. In Part III we discuss NEPAD's strategy for realizing investment flows into Africa, some of the NEPAD's institutional weaknesses, and the repercussions thereof in realizing the NEPAD objectives. It also highlights the potential implications of NEPAD to the regional integration plan in Africa. Taking into account the supposed political clash between NEPAD and the AU, Part IV discusses possible ways of restructuring NEPAD to enable …

Human Rights Approaches Of Corruption Control Mechanisms - Enhancing The Hong Kong Experience Of Corruption Prevention Strategies, C. Raj Kumar

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article is intended to make a case for promoting transparency in governance policies from a human rights perspective so as to argue for the development of a human right to good governance in Hong Kong. Secondly, it analyzes the work of the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong and addresses certain concerns in improving the efficiency of the ICAC. Thirdly, it argues that rights against corruption in Hong Kong should move beyond a law enforcement and public policy issue and attain the status of a human right. Fourthly, this Article examines the growth and development of international …

The Ethnic Question In Law And Development, Lan Cao

Michigan Law Review

World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, by Professor Amy Chua, is an analytically complex narrative of contemporary ethnic violence in the current era of globalization. Although such violence has historical roots, according to Chua it has also been fueled by free-market forces and democratization. The book is a forceful and provocative indictment of the current U.S. policy of promoting and exporting markets and democracy to developing and formerly communist, market-transitional countries. In her book, Professor Chua applies her thesis - that ethnicity, global capitalism, and democracy are a volatile mix - …

If It's Hardly Worth Doing, It's Hardly Worth Doing Right: How The Nlra's Goals Are Defeated Through Inadequate Remedies, Robert M. Worster Iii

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Jekyll And Hyde Story Of International Trade: The Supreme Court In Phrma V. Walsh And The Trips Agreement, Srividhya Ragavan

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other: Analogizing Ageism To Racism In Employment Discrimination Cases, Rhonda M. Reaves

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Between Mandate And Market: Contract Transition In The Shadow Of The International Order, Robert B. Ahdieh

Faculty Scholarship

Boilerplate in sovereign debt contracts issued in the United States has long dictated the unanimous consent of bondholders to any debt restructuring. This requirement persisted for decades, notwithstanding wide consensus that such unanimous action provisions increased transaction costs, produced inefficient delays in debt restructuring, enhanced the moral hazards of the sovereign debt market, and otherwise encouraged collective action failures. Yet the sovereign debt markets has recently made an about-face, replacing the unanimity requirement for debt restructuring with a less demanding provision for collective, or majority, action by creditors. Completed over the course of just a few months in 2003, this …

Spectres Of Law & Economics, William H. Widen

Michigan Law Review

There are spectres haunting law and economics - the spectres of G.W.F. Hegel and Jacques Lacan. This is one of the central theses of Professor Jeanne L. Schroeder's challenging new book: The Triumph of Venus, the Erotics of the Market ("Triumph of Venus"). Schroeder uses insights inspired by the teachings of Hegel and the French psychoanalyst, Lacan, to critique some basic assumptiosn made by scholars who use economic ideas to investigate the law and legal institutions - the law and economics ("L&E") practitioners. The book devotes much space to criticism of Judge Posner's vision of law, using it …

Assessing The Options For Designing A Mandatory U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program, Robert R. Nordhaus, Kyle W. Danish

ExpressO

The United States faces growing pressure – both from domestic and international sources – to adopt a mandatory greenhouse gas reduction program to address the risk of global climate change. If policy-makers decide to establish such a program, they could end up creating an environmental regulatory regime of potentially unprecedented scope and impacts. A domestic greenhouse gas program could break ground in other ways too. Many policy-makers are considering innovative market-based approaches to regulation, including a multi-billion dollar economy-wide “cap-and-trade” program. In this paper, we: (1) set forth criteria for evaluating program options; (2) analyze the leading design options and …

Securing Truth For Power: Informational Strategy And Regulatory Policy Making, Cary Coglianese

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

What Is Fiscal Responsibility? Long-Term Deficits, Generational Accounting, And Capital Budgeting, Neil H. Buchanan

Rutgers Law School (Newark) Faculty Papers

This article assesses three basic approaches to assessing the future effects of the government’s fiscal policies: traditional measures of the deficit, measures associated with Generational Accounting, and measures derived from applying Capital Budgeting to the federal accounts. I conclude that Capital Budgeting is the best of the three approaches and that Generational Accounting is the least helpful. Acknowledging that there might be some value in learning what we can from a variety of approaches to analyzing fiscal policy, I nevertheless conclude that Generational Accounting is actually a misleading or--at best--empty measure of future fiscal developments. The best approach to providing …

Should Issuers Be On The Hook For Laddering? An Empirical Analysis Of The Ipo Market Manipulation Litigation, Stephen Choi, Adam C. Pritchard

Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009

nder Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, firms making public offerings of securities are strictly liable to investors for any material misstatements in the registration statements that accompany those offers. This strict liability regime is premised on the notion that issuers are best placed to avoid misstatements in the registration statement. Section 11 gives other potential defendants a “due diligence” defense to reflect their lesser ability to ensure the accuracy of the registration statement. The recent spate of “laddering” lawsuits alleging manipulation of the aftermarket for certain stocks issued in “hot” initial public offerings (IPOs) presents a role-reversal …

Application Of The Public-Trust Doctrine And Principles Of Natural Resource Management To Electromagnetic Spectrum, Patrick S. Ryan

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The Electromagnetic spectrum is among our most valuable natural resources. Yet while the past few decades have seen a rich body of environmental law develop for other natural resources, this movement has largely passed over the electromagnetic spectrum. This Article argues that to remedy that situation, the public-trust doctrine, which is now a cornerstone of modern environmental law, should be extended to the electromagnetic spectrum. This extension would not be a leap: the public-trust doctrine has already been used to guarantee the public access to various bodies of water (not just navigable water), and to protect recreational lakes and beaches, …

Pour Encourager Les Autres? The Curious History And Distressing Implications Of The Criminal Provisions Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act And The Sentencing Guidelines Amendments That Followed, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This Article presents a legislative history of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the subsequent amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. It explains the surprising interaction between the civil and criminal provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley. The Article also provides a dramatic and detailed account of the interplay of political interests and agendas that ultimately led to large sentence increases for serious corporate criminals and blanket sentence increases for virtually all federal fraud defendants. The tale illuminates the substance of the new legislation and sentencing rules, but is more broadly instructive regarding the distribution of power over criminal sentencing between the three branches and …

The Law And Economics Of Employee Information Exchange In The Knowledge Economy, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman

Faculty Publications

Mr. Fowler's story illustrates nicely how, in the new economy, knowledge has become both the key production process component and an important object of exchange itself. While knowledge has always been a component of economic activity, it has become “the one factor of production” capable of increasing the productive capacity of both capital and labor. Mr. Fowler's story also reminds us that, as it was the case in years past, the interests of employers and employees do not necessarily coincide when it comes to allocating rights regarding the ownership and exchange of knowledge.Interestingly, this transition towards a “knowledge economy,” and …

The New Iraq: Revising Iraq's Commercial Law Is A Necessity For Foreign Direct Investment And The Reconstruction Of Iraq's Decimated Economy, Judith Richards Hope, Edward N. Griffin

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the legal reforms implemented by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in post-conflict Iraq, particularly CPA Order No. 39, which liberalizes foreign investment. These reforms are crucial for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to revive Iraq's economy, which has been devastated by war, sanctions, and central planning. The article highlights the importance of creating a stable legal environment, including equal treatment for foreign and domestic investors, streamlined corporate governance, and adherence to international standards. However, it also points out gaps in protections against confiscation and the need for further reforms in areas such as business immigration and tax …

Bucking The Trend: The Unsupportability Of Index Providers' Imposition Of Licensing Fees For Unlisted Trading Of Exchange Traded Funds, Peter N. Hall

Vanderbilt Law Review

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are popular investment products that have recently generated substantial investment press, several new regulations, huge earnings for the securities markets, and potential legal conflicts that will likely lead to major litigation. ETFs are derivative securities that represent ownership in funds, unit investment trusts, or depositary receipts with portfolios of securities designed to track the performance and dividends of specific securities indices.' ETFs track indices by holding a representative sampling of securities in the index, thus approximating investment results of the index as a whole. They may or may not hold all the stocks in a particular …

International Tax As International Law, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009

The purpose of this article is to introduce to the international lawyer the somewhat different set of categories (e.g., residence and source rather than nationality and territoriality) employed by international tax lawyers, and explain the reasons for some of the differences. At the same time, it attempts to persuade practicing international tax lawyers and international tax academics that their field is indeed part of international law, and that it would help them to think of it this way. For example, knowledge of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties would help international tax lawyers in interpreting tax treaties, and …

The Pitfalls Of International Integration: A Comment On The Bush Proposal And Its Aftermath, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009

In January 2003, the Bus Administration proposed a new system for taxing corporate dividends, under which domestic shareholders in U.S. corporations would not be taxed on dividends they received, provided the corporation distributed these dividends out of after-tax earnings (the “Bush Proposal”). The Bush Proposal was introduced in Congress in February 27,2003. Ultimately, however, Congress balked at enacting full-fledged dividend exemption. Instead, in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (“JGTRRA”) as enacted on May 28, 2003, a lower rate of 15% was adopted for dividends paid by domestic and certain foreign corporations, and the capital gains …

Corporations, Society And The State: A Defense Of The Corporate Tax, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009

This article attempts to provide the first comprehensive rationale for defending the current corporate income tax. It argues that the usual reasons given for the tax (primarily as an indirect way of taxing shareholders, or alternatively as a form of benefit tax) are inadequate. It then explains what the original rationale to adopt this tax was in 1909, namely to regulate managerial power, and that this rationale stems from the real view of the corporation, which was the dominant view throughout the many transformations underwent by the corporate form from Roman times to the present. Turning to normative argument, the …

Insights From Economics, Jennifer Gerarda Brown

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Banking The Poor, Michael S. Barr

Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009

Low-income households often lack access to banking accounts and face high costs for transacting basic financial services through check cashers and other alternative financial service providers. These families find it more difficult to save and plan financially for the future. Living paycheck to paycheck leaves them vulnerable to medical or job emergencies that may endanger their financial stability, and lack of longer-term savings undermines their ability to improve skills, purchase a home, or send their children to college. Additionally, high cost financial services and inadequate access to bank accounts may undermine widely-shared societal goals of reducing poverty, moving families from …