Precedent Externality, Network Effect, and the Possible Inefficiency of the Evolution of Laws |
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Authors: | C Y Cyrus Chu |
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Institution: | (1) Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road Sec 2, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan |
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Abstract: | Using the traditional scenario of tort conflict as an example, I argue that the marginal precautionary costs of injurers and victims are not constant, as was assumed by most previous researchers. The precedent of a liability rule has some natural externality on the precaution technology, and hence marginal cost, faced by future agents involved in torts. The adoption of legal rules therefore has a network effect, meaning that the present prevalent adoption of one rule increases the probability of its future adoption. Treating the dynamic evolution of legal rules as a random process, we are able to apply an established result in the literature of network economies to conclude the path-dependence, non-predictability, and potential inefficiency concerning the final legal rule to which the dynamics converge. |
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Keywords: | precedent externality common law efficiency network effect |
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