Multiple empirical studies find that juries/courts take account of potential harm in the determination of punitive damages. The received view in economic theory, however, is that punitive damages should not depend on potential harm. The purpose of this note is to provide an efficiency rationale...

In criminal law, when a conflict is solved by plea bargaining, the negotiation is mainly made between the prosecutor and the lawyer. Adopting a complete information framework about his type (selfish or altruistic), this paper compares two lawyer payment systems: flat fees and hourly-wage fees....

Use of public humiliation as a deterrent to crime has a long history as does the debate over its effectiveness. A recent rule change in college football presents a natural experiment to test the effectiveness of so-called shaming penalties. In 2004 the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

Limited liability may result in inefficient accident prevention, because a relevant portion of the expected harm is externalized on victims. This paper shows that under some restrictive conditions further limiting liability by means of a liability cap can improve caretaking.

Limited liability may result in inefficient accident prevention, because a relevant portion of the expected harm is externalized on victims. This paper shows that under some restrictive conditions further limiting liability by means of a liability cap can improve caretaking.

It has been generally accepted for unilateral-care models that care incentives are not affected by the use of either accurate damages or average damages if injurers lack knowledge of the precise damage level they might cause. This paper shows that in bilateral-care models with heterogeneous...

It has been generally accepted for unilateral-care models that care incentives are not affected by the use of either accurate damages or average damages if injurers lack knowledge of the precise damage level they might cause. This paper shows that in bilateral-care models with heterogeneous...

Law enforcement against illegal drug markets like coca leaf production have created big debate about its consequences and effectiveness. Since this enfocerment does not only affect the illegal market but also the legal ones it is then necessary to study its effects and effectiveness within a...

In France the struggle against red light running behaviour is a government priority for reducing road accidents and fatalities. The objective of this study is to measure the frequency of red light runnings and assess the factors impacting these behaviours. Pneumatic counters were used to measure...

In this paper, we explore employers' decisions regarding the employment of legal and illegal immigrants in the presence of endogenous adjustment cost, minimum wages and an enforcement budget. We show that increasing the employment of legal foreign workers will increase the number of illegal...