Promoting Democracy In Prosecution,
2011
University of Washington School of Law
Promoting Democracy In Prosecution, Russell M. Gold
Washington Law Review
Voters were meant to check prosecutors’ decisions, but that check has eroded because voters lack the information necessary to cast meaningful votes in prosecutor elections. Voters’ lack of an effective political check on prosecutors causes two related problems: (1) inefficient allocation of prosecutorial resources and (2) divestment of democratic sovereignty from the people. Prosecutors currently need not consider expenditures for incarceration or public defense because voters never see these costs and thus cannot hold their prosecutors accountable for them. Accordingly, these costs become an externality in the prosecutorial decision-making process, causing prosecutors to spend resources in socially inefficient ways. To …
Slow But Sure, Africa's Path To Democracy: [Bridled] Globalization, Education, And The Middle Class,
2011
Cornell Law School
Slow But Sure, Africa's Path To Democracy: [Bridled] Globalization, Education, And The Middle Class, Thomas Kojo Stephens
Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers
Africa! The word has been associated with poverty, greed, brutality and gangsterism. Why is Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, still wallowing in poverty while the great mass of nations are moving forward, some taking strides while others making gargantuan leaps? Is there any hope that African countries will in large part become democratic? How do they get there? In this paper, I give a short historical background of how Africa has evolved over the years into modern day Africa in order to understand how Africa has come to be what, and where it is today. I make the argument that the …
An Economic Analysis Of Fact Witness Payment,
2011
Northwestern University School of Law
An Economic Analysis Of Fact Witness Payment, Eugene Kontorovich, Ezra Friedman
Faculty Working Papers
In this paper we discuss the disparate treatment of perceptual (''fact'') witnesses and expert witnesses in the legal system. We highlight the distinction between the perceptual act of witnessing and the act of testifying, and argue that although there might be good reasons to regulate payments to fact witnesses, the customary prohibition on paying them for their services is not justified by reference to economic theory. We propose considering a court mediated system for compensating fact witnesses so as to encourage witnessing of legally important events.We construct a simple model of witness incentives, and simulate the effects of several possible …
Antitrust Review Of The At&T/T-Mobile Transaction,
2011
University of Tennessee
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 …
The Wider Context: The Future Of Capital Markets Regulation In Developed Markets,
2011
Melbourne Law School
The Wider Context: The Future Of Capital Markets Regulation In Developed Markets, Cally Jordan
Faculty Papers & Publications
At a time of such great turbulence, looking to the future directions of capital markets and their regulation in developed economies is a particularly risky business. We are in the midst of a great sea change. Nevertheless, there are several current, and readily observable, phenomena which are likely to shape capital markets regulation in the near future. First of all, the blurring of the distinctions between developed and developing markets themselves, as well as that between domestic and international markets, has put into question the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks. Also, the transatlantic dialogue, London – New York, has given …
The Risks Of Reward: The Role Of Executive Compensation In Financial Crisis,
2011
Wayne State University
The Risks Of Reward: The Role Of Executive Compensation In Financial Crisis, Erica Beecher-Monas
Law Faculty Research Publications
This Article examines the role of unbridled executive pay in exacerbating what Keynes called the "animal spirits" of the market. It analyzes the ways in which theoretical bases of executive pay structures diverge from reality, and the stakes for the firm and society in skyrocketing pay practices unlinked to performance. Various regulatory efforts, including the executive pay provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, are intended to better align pay with performance. This article discusses these provisions and analyzes them in light of behavioral economics. Curbing executive pay is vital to controlling risk and preventing economic collapse, but the dynamics of group …
Letter Of Credit Litigation Under Ucc Article 5: A Case Of Statutory Preemption,
2011
Wayne State University
Letter Of Credit Litigation Under Ucc Article 5: A Case Of Statutory Preemption, John F. Dolan
Law Faculty Research Publications
In this article, Professor Dolan maintains that UCC Article 5 fashions a comprehensive remedy scheme for recurring damages claims in letter of credit litigation. That scheme, he contends, is upset by the introduction of most common law causes of action in Article 5 litigation. He concludes, therefore, that courts should not entertain those common law claims, which he sees as destructive of letter of credit law and of the unique commercial nature of letters of credit. Using the economic loss doctrine and similar theories, he urges courts to dismiss actions brought in addition to or in lieu of the remedies …
Keeping Republics Republican,
2011
Florida State University College of Law
Keeping Republics Republican, Rob Atkinson
Scholarly Publications
No abstract provided.
The Great American Housing Bubble : The Road To Collapse,
2011
University of Denver
The Great American Housing Bubble : The Road To Collapse, Robert M. Hardaway
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
In the aftermath of the American housing collapse in 2008, many ask why. The Great American Housing Bubble: The Road to Collapse asks a different and more fundamental question - how the bubble was created in the first place. To answer that question, it examines the causes, both political and economic, of the American housing bubble created between 1940 and 2007. Those causes encompass everything from federal income tax subsidies for housing to local exclusionary policies, banking, accounting, real estate appraisal, and credit agency rating practices and policies. The book also takes into account the impact of greed, government regulation, …
The Flawed Probabilistic Foundation Of Law & Economics,
2011
Brooklyn Law School
The Flawed Probabilistic Foundation Of Law & Economics, Alex Stein
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Small-Donor Public Financing In The Post-Citizens United Era, 44 J. Marshall L. Rev. 619 (2011),
2011
UIC School of Law
Small-Donor Public Financing In The Post-Citizens United Era, 44 J. Marshall L. Rev. 619 (2011), Monica Youn
UIC Law Review
No abstract provided.
Reconceptualizing The Law Of Nuisance Through A Theory Of Economic Captivity,
2011
The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Reconceptualizing The Law Of Nuisance Through A Theory Of Economic Captivity, George P. Smith Ii, Matthew Saunig
Scholarly Articles
Generally, the fact that a plaintiff comes to a nuisance is not a per se defense to a nuisance action. This defense is viewed in many jurisdictions as but a factor in determining whether a defendant’s conduct is an unreasonable interference with use and enjoyment of a neighbor’s property. In principle, two other affirmative defenses are — although not often allowed in practice by the courts — found in contributory negligence and assumption of the risk.
This Article seeks to develop a theory of economic captivity which embraces the notion that a plaintiff may be constrained, socio-economically, in making choices …
Russia's Lack Of American-Style Agency Priciples: A Primary Cause Of Corporate Governance Problems Today,
2011
University of South Carolina
Russia's Lack Of American-Style Agency Priciples: A Primary Cause Of Corporate Governance Problems Today, C. Keith Marshall Jr.
South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business
No abstract provided.
Review Of Seeds Of Destruction: Why The Path To Economic Ruin Runs Through Washington, And How To Reclaim American Prosperity,
2011
University of Michigan Law School
Review Of Seeds Of Destruction: Why The Path To Economic Ruin Runs Through Washington, And How To Reclaim American Prosperity, Michael S. Barr
Reviews
The United States has just gone through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Our financial system came to brink of collapse, saved only by a massive intervention by the federal government. Although officially the Great Recession is now over, high unemployment and slow growth persist. Deficits that were ballooning in the 2000s with the weight of tax cuts, increased health care expenditures, and defense spending related to Iraq and Afghanistan, even before the financial crisis, have continued to climb, as lower tax receipts, automatic stabilizers, and fiscal stimulus kicked into gear.
The Trillion Dollar Problem Of Underwater Homeowners: Avoiding A New Surge Of Foreclosures By Encouraging Principal-Reducing Loan Modifications,
2011
Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law
The Trillion Dollar Problem Of Underwater Homeowners: Avoiding A New Surge Of Foreclosures By Encouraging Principal-Reducing Loan Modifications, Gregory S. Crespi
Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters
There are currently well over ten million underwater homeowners whose mortgage obligations exceed the current value of their houses, with an aggregate negative equity position of at least $800 billion and possibly over $1 trillion. The overwhelming majority of these persons continue to make their mortgage payments even though for many their interests would be better served by defaulting. This is therefore an unstable situation that could suddenly erupt with a rapid cascade of millions of strategic defaults, potentially triggering severe macroeconomic dislocations. It is urgent that this situation be defused through the modification of the mortgages of a large …
Tax Policy And The Efficiency Of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad,
2011
Harvard Business School
Tax Policy And The Efficiency Of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad, Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley, James R. Hines Jr.
Articles
Deferral of U.S. taxes on foreign source income is commonly characterized as a subsidy to foreign investment, as reflected in its inclusion among “tax expenditures” and occasional calls for its repeal. This paper analyzes the extent to which tax deferral and other policies inefficiently subsidize U.S. direct investment abroad. Investments are dynamically inefficient if they consistently generate less in returns to investors than they absorb in new investment funds. From 1982–2010, repatriated earnings from foreign affiliates exceeded net capital investments by $1.1 trillion in 2010 dollars, and from 1950–2010, repatriated earnings and net interest from foreign affiliates exceeded net equity …
Narrowing The Tax Gap Through Presumptive Taxation,
2011
University of Michigan Law School
Narrowing The Tax Gap Through Presumptive Taxation, Kyle D. Logue, Gustavo G. Vettori
Articles
Can the United States government significantly reduce the federal tax gap? This question has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention over the years and has been the focus of numerous government reports. The "tax gap" is the official term for the Treasury Department's estimate of the difference between what American taxpayers should pay to the federal government in a given tax year (that is, the amount of tax they owe, based on a reasonable interpretation of existing tax laws as applied to particular taxpayers' circumstances) and what they actually pay. This estimate is derived from painstaking and detailed audits …
Why It's Called The Affordable Care Act,
2011
University of Michigan Law School
Why It's Called The Affordable Care Act, Nicholas Bagley, Jill R. Horwitz
Articles
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“ACA”) raises numerous policy and legal issues, but none have attracted as much attention from lawyers as Section 1501. This provision, titled “Maintenance of Mini-mum Essential Coverage,” but better known as the “individual mandate,” requires most Americans to obtain health insurance for themselves and their dependents by 2014. We are dismayed that the narrow issue of the mandate and the narrower issue of free riding have garnered so much attention when our nation’s health-care system suffers from countless problems. By improving quality, controlling costs, and extending coverage to the uninsured, the …
The Unaffordable Health Care Act - A Reponse To Professors Bagley And Horwitz,
2011
University of Michigan Law School
The Unaffordable Health Care Act - A Reponse To Professors Bagley And Horwitz, Douglas A. Kahn, Jeffrey H. Kahn
Articles
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 has stirred considerable controversy. In the public debate over the program, many of its proponents have defended it by focusing on what is sometimes called the “free-rider” problem. In a prior article, we contended that the free-rider problem has been greatly exaggerated and was not a significant factor in the congressional decision to adopt the Act. We maintained that the free-rider issue is a red herring advanced to trigger an emotional attraction to the Act and distract attention from the actual issues that favor and disfavor its adoption. In a recently …
Biased Advice,
2011
Boston University School of Law
Biased Advice, Christopher Robertson
Faculty Scholarship
The modern capitalist society, characterized by decentralized decision making and increasingly sophisticated products and services, turns on relationships of epistemic reliance, where laypersons depend upon advisors to guide their most important decisions. Yet many of those advisors lack real expertise and may be biased by conflicting interests. In such situations, laypersons are likely to make suboptimal decisions that sometimes aggregate into systematic failures, from soaring health care costs to market crashes. Regulators can attempt to manage the symptoms and worst abuses, but the fundamental problem of biased advice will remain. There are many potential policy solutions, from outright bans on …
