This chapter of the forthcoming Handbook of Law and Economics surveys the theory of the public enforcement of law - the … sanction imposed on a liable party be a fine, an imprisonment term, or a combination of the two? Should the rule of liability … of the central theory, including: activity level; errors; the costs of imposing fines; general enforcement; marginal …

/settlement fines and court liability. In this optimum, injurers self-select by appealing (or not) to the court process; liability takes … a 'threshold' form, assessing maximal liability when damages are high and zero liability otherwise; and, vis-a-vis a …