Traditionally in the division of labor between the European level and the Member States it was, roughly, the European legislature that set the norms and the Member States that took care of enforcing these norms. In various policy areas, an implementation deficit has been observed, which is said...

Consumer law enforcement is high on the European legislator's agenda. The German consumer law enforcement landscape is not unaffected by these European developments. Traditionally, law enforcement in Germany has primarily been carried out by way of civil litigation relying on active consumer...

From an economic perspective tort law is to serve two important functions: deterrence of wrongdoers and victim compensation. We can easily construct examples of torts leading to small and widespread harm for which it is questionable whether a rational victim will initiate an individual lawsuit....

In the law and economics literature liability is generally regarded as an instrument which provides potential tortfeasors with incentives for optimal care taking. The question, however, arises whether liability can still provide those incentives when risks are unknown. That is the central...

From an economic point of view, there has to be a rationale for government intervention in markets in the form of consumer protection laws. This rationale results from economic inefficiencies in markets: particularly the occurrence of market failures. If markets do not work properly, inefficient...

This Article suggests that in addressing problems of environmental degradation in developing countries, policymakers and scholars have neglected the important question of regulatory design. While a country’s long-term improvement in environmental conditions almost certainly depends on...

The paper consists of two parts: a theoretical part followed by a practical part. On the basis of the economic literature concerning environmental law and economic development it is illustrated how criteria can be developed to examine whether specific environmental policy instruments can be used...