I consider the efficiency of liability rules when courts obtain imperfect information about precautionary behavior. I ask what tort rules are consistent with socially efficient precautions, what informational requirements the evidence about the parties' behavior must satisfy, what decision rules...

I examine the case where fulfillment of a contractual commitment is only imperfectly verifiable and ask whether the court should then "tell the truth" regarding the action in dispute. I show that truth seeking does not maximize the expected surplus from contractual relationships. From the...

We consider situations where legal liability yields insufficient incentives for socially efficient behavior, e.g., individuals who cause harm are not always sued or are unable to pay fully for harm done. Some individuals nevertheless behave efficiently because of intrinsic prosocial concerns....

We analyze the design of legal principles and procedures for court decision-making in civil litigation. The objective is the provision of appropriate incentives for potential tort-feasors to exert care, when evidence about care is imperfect and may be distorted by the parties. Efficiency is...

The link between measured risk aversion and the decision to become an entrepreneur iswell established, but the link between risk preferences and entrepreneurial success is not.Standard theoretical models of occupational choice under uncertainty imply a positivecorrelation between an...

This paper reviews and synthesizes the theory of information economics and empiricalevidence on how information changes the behavior of consumers, households and firms. I show thatconsumers respond to new information in food experiments but perhaps not in retirement accountmanagement. Some...

For the first 13 years after entry, the hazard rate for firm exits is persistently higher forurban than rural firms. While differences in observed industry market, local marketand firm attributes explain some of the rural-urban gap in firm survival, rural firmsretain a survival advantage 25%...