In this paper, we review the recent literature on conflict and appropriation. Allowing for the possibility of conflict, which amounts to recognizing the possibility that property rights are not perfectly and costlessly enforced, represents a significant departure from the traditional paradigm of...

This paper proposes a new framework to analyze the behavior of quot;public advocatesquot;, defined as professionals who seek to influence public policy on behalf of the public interest. Using the framework, it describes systemic pressures that lead public advocates to overuse adversarial,...

This article presents a sampling of the ways in which $236.5 billion could have been spent if that money was not dedicated to the war in Iraq. The identification of specific alternatives may provoke further discussion as to how the United States has been spending, and how it should spend, its...

Whether, and if so, how exactly gender differences are manifested in moral judgment has recently been at the center of much research on moral decision making. Previous research suggests that women are more deontological than men in personal, but not impersonal, moral dilemmas. However, typical...

In an interconnected world, economic and political interests inevitably reach beyond national borders. Since policy choices generate external economic and political costs, foreign state and non-state actors have an interest in inflencing policy actions in other sovereign countries to their...

In 1837-38, the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada rebelled. The rebellion was most virulent in the latter of the two colonies. Historians have argued that economic consideration were marginal in explaining the causes of the rebellions. To make this claim, they argue that the areas that...

Army mobilization, testing missiles, staging demonstrations, sexual violence, or even terrorist actions can all be interpreted as signals of military resolve or strength by a belligerent party. If so, what can its opponent infer from this sort of actions? This paper studies this question in...

Following the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Citizens United v FEC, interest groups engaging in outside spending can receive unlimited contributions from unions and corporations. Critics of the decision have rejected the notion, espoused by the majority opinion, that outside spending does...

This short article addresses recent attempts by liquidators to incorporate the costs of running the liquidation into proceedings against directors for breaches of directors' duties. Taking New Zealand's companies (corporations) legislation as its starting point, it considers recent New Zealand...

Past studies have shown that income shocks can trigger women to embark on commercial sex. This paper studies some microeconomic effects of the Cote d'Ivoire's political instability in 2011 after the presidential election. We use a unique dataset, collected right before and after the crisis, on...