We are delighted to publish the papers from the symposium on social justice sponsored by the Center on Corporations, Law & Society of the Seattle University Law School. These papers address an impressive array of business and social issues and provide a penetrating assessment of whether existing...

Merger review policy among countries varies according to the weight given to consumers relative to producers. When both receive their full welfare weight it is said that the efficiencies defense is fully realized. No well-developed economic rationale has been given for giving more weight to...

After years of decline, America’s middle class may hold a smaller share of U.S. wealth than the top 1%, as the middle 60% of U.S. households saw their wealth fall to about 23% of national income. The middle class has about 60 times more households that the 1.3 million households of the 1%....

What social rate of return should the public sector pursue for spending that is intended to yield long-term benefits—that is, for “government investment”? People who favor less government spending support higher rates because they would discourage interventions, while people who favor more...

It is said that benefit-cost analysis adds up impacts “to whomsoever they accrue”. But in practice that general guidance is more complex and it is the issue of “standing” that defines more precisely whose benefits and costs are to be counted. As in law, where to bring a suit one must...

Regulatory impact analyses (RIAs) weigh the benefits of regulations against the burdens they impose and are invaluable tools for informing decision makers. We offer 10 tips for nonspecialist policymakers and interested stakeholders who will be reading RIAs as consumers. 1. Core problem:...

At the eve of the Civil War, ownership of slaves and thus of wealth was highly concentrated. Only 25% of white southern families owned slaves, and the majority of slave holders, 55%, owned only one to five slaves. Large planters held the bulk of slave wealth. These were only about 46,000...

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) is a classic example of regulation, and the origins and operation of this agency have been much analyzed. These have been variously described as examples of public interest regulation, capture regulation, and what I have called predatory regulation. By...