Little attention has been given to the possibility that CDS transactions might be construed as insurance contracts in English law. This article challenges the widespread “Potts opinion”, which states that CDSs are not insurance, because they do not require the protection buyer to sustain a...

Classical virtue theory has received limited attention in economics. The paper demonstrates its fruitfulness for economic and legal analysis by linking the traditional ethical literature with modern law and economics. Virtues are interpreted as a theory of moral psychology, and applied to...

"Means-tested retirement benefits create strong disincentives to work and to save prior to retirement. This article outlines the structure of means-tested benefits in the UK and the USA, and reviews the theoretical and empirical evidence of their incentive effects." Copyright (c) 2008 The Author.