"Ever since Corlett and Hague, it has been understood that it tends to be optimal on second-best grounds to (relatively) tax complements to leisure and subsidize substitutes because doing so helps to offset the distorting effect of taxation on labor supply. Yet, Atkinson and Stiglitz's optimal...

The optimal stringency of the burden of proof is characterized in a model in which relaxing the proof burden enhances deterrence but also chills desirable behavior. The result are strikingly different from those in prior work that uses a simpler model in which individuals only choose whether to...

A substantial literature examines second-best environmental policy, focusing particularly on how the Pigouvian directive that marginal taxes should equal marginal external harms needs to be modified in light of the preexisting distortion due to labor income taxation. Additional literature is...

This thorough and detailed book provides a comprehensive analysis of the various ways in which laws and rules are produced and lays the foundations for a systematic understanding of lawmaking as a production process.

AA substantial literature examines second-best environmental policy, focusing particularly on how the Pigouvian directive that marginal taxes should equal marginal external harms needs to be modified in light of the preexisting distortion due to labor income taxation. Additional literature is...

Shifting victorious plaintiffs' fees to defendants and increasing damage awards are alternative ways to achieve similar results: increasing plaintiffs' incentives to sue and raising defendants' expected payments. This article shows that relying on higher damage awards is more efficient than...

Income tax burdens, welfare payments, and social security benefits depend on the composition of family units. Substantial controversy exists over the appropriate forms of adjustment, as reflected by the wide variation in methods among programs, across jurisdictions, and over time. In contrast to...

A significant source of risk arises from uncertainty concerning future government policy. Government action--tax reform, deregulation, judicial decisions, budgetary shifts--produces gains and losses for those who invested under preexisting rules. The effects of government relief--compensation,...