This paper shows that individual risk-type uncertainty can prevent reforms of the insurance system that would benefit the majority of individuals. We consider the case where a subset of the population is uncertain of their risk type and contrast two insurance regimes; the status quo of mandated...

This paper analyzes the effects of different sequences of remedies on the incentives of sellers to invest in product quality and on the probability of contract termination. Despite ambitious efforts by the EU to harmonize national legislation, sales laws still differ significantly in Europe. The...

One central function of tort law is the inducement of precaution incentives. This is particularly welcome in settings in which the internalization of interdependencies between individuals relating to care and expected harm would otherwise not take effect due to high transaction costs broadly...

The severity of the sanction for a given offense is often determined by the offense history of the offender. We establish that this policy can be welfare-maximizing if individuals are imperfectly informed about the magnitude of the sanction. Imperfect information distorts individuals' perception...

This paper studies the impact of varying defendant fault on the comparison of litigation outcomes under the contingent fee regime and the legal expenses insurance regime. The criteria for regime comparison are: (i) expected plaintiff payoffs, (ii) plaintiff and defendant expenditures, (iii)...

This paper allows for avoidance activities in the accident setting and analyzes how this affects the evaluation of uncertain due care standards and of different negligence conceptions from an efficiency perspective. Importantly, our analysis also shows that punitive damages, i.e., damages above...

This paper establishes within an intertemporal framework that firm activity is influenced by tax evasion if firms can invest in their long-term competitiveness. Higher investment raises the firm's survival probability, which in turn reduces tax-evasion payoffs, since evaded taxes may also be...

Religiosity influences economic behavior in various domains, but what determines religiosity? Using data from the representative Socio-Economic Panel Study for Germany (SOEP), this paper shows that religious activity increases after a family member's death. The life event's effect is larger...

Die Autoren haben die Auswirkungen eines beschränkten Verbots von Alkoholverkäufen zwischen 22 und 5 Uhr auf Gewalttaten analysiert. Das Verbot galt in Baden-Württemberg von 2010 bis 2017. Es führte dazu, dass Körperverletzungen abnahmen, hatte aber keinen signifikanten Einfl uss auf...