Legal Title to Property May Not Always Result in Liability as an Owner under CERCLA

The meaning of “ownership” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is not as straightforward as most people believe. Although liability under section 107(a)(1) is imposed upon a current “owner” or operator of a facility, CERCLA provides little guidance because it defines “owner” as “any person owning” a facility. In most cases, the issue of who owns the property or a facility is readily apparent and not controversial; however, this article discusses cases in which courts have been compelled to critically examine the specific facts of the case and state law to determine whether a particular party is an “owner” for purposes of establishing liability under CERCLA.     

Atomic Leverage: Compellence with Nuclear Latency

Nuclear proliferation is not a binary outcome with uniform consequences, but instead spans a continuum of latent capacity to produce nuclear weapons. At various thresholds of technical development, some countries leverage nuclear latency to practice coercive diplomacy. How and when does nuclear technology provide a challenger with the most effective means to extract concessions in world politics? This article claims that compellence with nuclear latency puts a challenger on the horns of a credibility dilemma between demonstrating resolve and signaling restraint, and identifies a sweet spot for reaching an optimal bargain where the proliferation threat is credible while the assurance costs of revealing intent are low. Historical studies of South Korea, Japan, and North Korea validate this Goldilocks principle and find that it consistently reflects the ability to produce fissile material. Contrary to conventional wisdom about proliferation, nuclear technology generates political effects long before a country acquires nuclear weapons.     

Aktuarielle und beihilfenrechtliche Analyse staatlicher Mithaftung in der Katastrophenversicherung

Die in den letzten Jahren sich häufenden Katastrophenereignisse durch Terroranschläge oder Naturgewalt haben ein bislang in der Versicherungswirtschaft nicht kalkuliertes Ausmaß an Schäden verursacht. Alle bisherigen aktuariellen Modelle zur Schadenberechnung stoßen an ihre Grenzen. Aufgrund der nahezu unmöglichen Einschätzung der Schadeneintrittswahrscheinlichkeit und des nicht fassbaren Kumulrisikos ist in naher Zukunft eine reine privatwirtschaftliche Lösung in der Katastrophenversicherung nicht zu erwarten. Angesichts der besonderen Bedeutung des Versicherungsschutzes als Produktionsfaktor in der Volkswirtschaft ist ein staatliches Eingreifen erforderlich und wünschenswert. Im vorliegenden Aufsatz wird zunächst überprüft, wie die Versicherbarkeit von Katastrophenrisiken aus aktuarieller Sicht zu beurteilen ist. Anschließend wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern eine staatliche Beteiligung an der Katastrophenversicherung im Einklang mit den europäischen Beihilfenvorschriften im Einklang steht.     

Linking Risk Aversion,Time Preference and Fertiliser Use in Burkina Faso

This paper investigates whether Burkinabe maize farmers’ fertiliser-use decisions are correlated with their risk and time preferences. We conducted a survey and a series of hypothetical experiments on a sample of 1500 farmers. We find that more patient farmers do use more fertiliser, but it is only because they plant more maize (a fertiliser-intensive crop) rather than because they use more fertiliser per hectare of maize planted. Conversely, we find no statistically significant link between risk aversion and fertiliser use. We use a simple two-period model, which suggests that risk aversion may indeed have an ambiguous effect on fertiliser use.