In this chapter we consider how models of imperfect competition, developed by scholars working in industrial organization, provide insight into an important area of law: products liability (that is, liability for harms and losses associated with goods and services sold via markets). Remarkably,...

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows one to combine the results from multiple studies to glean inferences on the overall importance of a certain phenomenon. This study employs a substantive metaanalysis approach to quantitatively summarize the results of empirical studies of the...

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that allows one to combine the results from multiple studies to glean inferences on the overall importance of a certain phenomenon. This study employs a substantive metaanalysis approach to quantitatively summarize the results of empirical studies of the...

Consumers in wealthy countries like the U.S. and Japan usually know what they want, and how to obtain it. In such markets, the sellers who thrive should tend to be those who offer consumers the level of safety they want -- no matter what the law might be. For the most part, U.S. data confirm...

A firm sells a dangerous product to heterogeneous consumers. Higher consumer types suffer accidents more often but may enjoy higher gross benefits. The firm invests resources to reduce the frequency of accidents. When the consumer's net benefit function (gross benefits minus expected harms) is...

This paper establishes that tort damages multipliers higher than one can be an instrument to induce imperfectly competitive producers to invest in product safety at socially optimal levels. In their selection of product safety levels, producers seek to maximize profits, neglecting the fact that...