This paper analyzes the relation between the quality of the legal enforcement of loan contracts and the allocation of credit to households, both theoretically and empirically. We use a model of household credit market with secured debt contracts, where the judicial system affects the cost...

In this paper, we conduct an empirical analysis of the impact of better judicial enforcement on the probability of being credit rationed, loan size, and the probability of bankruptcy using household-level data from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers, conducted by the Institute for Research...

The decision making of judges is prone to error and misapprehension. Consequently, the prevailing literature ties the economic function of courts to dispute resolution and minimization of rule making costs. In contrast to previous research, this analysis applies a contract theoretic perspective...

Judges become ambitious decision makers when they face appellate review. This paper applies a contract theoretic perspective to the behavior of self-interested trial judges in a twolevel court system and analyzes the consequences for contracting in “the shadow of” the court. Confronted with...

It seems that private law dislikes futilities, if the maxim “de minimis non curat praetor” is anything to go by: neither the courts nor the law should concern themselves with trifles. Indeed, the academic venture of drafting a Common Frame of Reference (CFR) upholds this principle by stating...

Structured Investment Vehicles or SIVs are highly complex derivative-related vehicles and products, typically involving offshore “bankruptcy-remote” special purpose companies and trusts, complex rules for the management of portfolios of derivative assets and additional rules for the...

This survey of recent developments includes reports on the new Rotterdam Rules intended to govern claims of damage or loss for goods carried by sea under bills of lading and new Institute Cargo Clauses for use in policies of marine insurance. Reports are also offered on the cases of Transfield...

Some recent scholarship contends that arbitration is failing in its attempts to compete with litigation. When arbitration does succeed in attracting customers, such as businesses including arbitration clauses in their consumer contracts, commentators assert that it does so illegitimately, such...

In several contract situations, parties exchange promises of future performance, creating reciprocal obligations. In this paper, we extend the standard models of contract remedies to consider the incentives created by contracts where both parties provide only executory consideration and where...

This article seeks to demonstrate that when granting relief under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006, the English court may apply foreign law consistent with the US Chapter 15 jurisprudence. Three practical areas where the application of foreign law is often important are bankruptcy...