Penalty Enhancement for Hate Crimes: An Economic Analysis

This article develops an economic analysis of penalty enhancementsfor bias-motivated (or "hate") crimes. Our model allows potentialoffenders' benefits from a crime to depend on the victim's groupidentity, and assumes that potential victims have the opportunityto undertake socially costly victimization avoidance activities.We derive the result that a pattern of crimes disproportionatelytargeting an identifiable group leads to greater social harm(even when the harm to an individual victim from a bias-motivatedcrime is identical to that from an equivalent non–hatecrime). In addition, we consider a number of other issues relatedto hate crime laws.     

Limiting Liability for Automobile Accidents: Are No-Fault Tort Thresholds Effective?

"No-fault" automobile insurance plans are designed to supplant the tort system by requiring motorists to purchase no-fault insurance and allowing victims to file liability insurance claims and tort suits only if their injuries exceed a legislated "tort threshold." While thresholds vary among states, many are satisfied if the victim incurs medical expenses as low as a few hundred dollars. Using insurance claims data, we estimate the effectiveness of several states' thresholds. We find that tort thresholds are surprisingly effective: modest tort thresholds reduce the number of successful tort claimants by half, and the strictest thresholds may exclude nine-tenths of potential claimants. Moreover, we find little evidence of claimants "padding" their claims to exceed the dollar thresholds.     

机动车车体潜在标识符的检验

机动车的发动机和车架等商品序列号是其原始标识符,一般是通过对金属表面冲压的方式形成的,是表明商品唯一性的代码。对已损毁的机动车车体原始标识符的检验鉴定,是侦破机动车盗抢案件的关键性技术环节。了解并掌握损毁、篡改机动车车体标识符的常用方法,改进并优化对潜在标识符的显现技术,进而提高此类案件的侦破率,是刑事技术领域的一项重要工作。     

An Economic Analysis of Anti-Tax-Avoidance Doctrines

This article analyzes the effect of tax law doctrines designedto reduce tax shelters, such as the business-purpose doctrine,and the economic-substance doctrine. The article analyzes thesedoctrines as changes to the marginal elasticity of taxable income.As these doctrines are strengthened, the elasticity of taxableincome goes down (in absolute value). By reducing the marginalelasticity of taxable income, the doctrines increase the efficiencyof the tax system. Because the doctrines cannot perfectly identifytax avoidance, however, they induce a distortionary responseby taxpayers, who may structure shelters to avoid the doctrines.This distortionary effect reduces their efficiency. The netbenefit should be set equal on the margin to the marginal administrativecost of the doctrines.     

专利侵权损害赔偿计算分摊原则的经济分析

分摊原则是在多部件、多专利的复杂产品背景下计算专利侵权损害赔偿数额的重要方法。选择合适的损害赔偿计算基础是适用分摊原则的起点。将最小可销售专利实施单元作为损害赔偿计算基础的缺省规则会带来赔偿不足的较高风险,并可能造成专利许可实践中交易成本的提高。选择专利产品的全部市场价值作为计算基础时,其错误风险则是中性的。用于计算分摊比例的各种经济方法均有其优缺点,必须根据个案选择适宜的具体计算方法。经验方法和数量比例法并非确定分摊比例的适当方法,应予以摒弃。     

机动车交通事故责任险与民事赔偿关系研究

机动车交通事故责任强制险与商业险是两种性质不同的责任保险,二者具有不同的设计原理,对交通事故受害人赔偿时,后者与前者为补充和被补充关系.机动车交通事故责任强制险以保护受害人为目的,其赔偿不以机动车所有人、管理人对事故受害人的民事赔偿责任为基础;机动车交通事故责任商业险的赔偿则以机动车所有人、管理人的民事赔偿责任为基础.民事赔偿制度为受害人的损失提供最终赔偿保障.     

北京市机动车排污权交易机制初探

与传统的行政管理和排污收费模式相比,排污权交易模式在治理环境污染中具有突出的优势。机动车排污交易机制的运行应在综合性的环境治理模式中发挥自己的特殊作用,最终实现机动车市场与大气环境保护的协调可持续发展。北京市机动车排污权交易面临着一些困难,我们应通过出台政策和试点的方式循序渐进地探索和建立机动车排污权交易机制。     

Matrimonial Breakdown and the Legal Process: The Limitations of No-Fault Divorce

This paper sets out the factors underlying the policy of no-fault divorce, and questions the attainability of its aims. From the writer's empirical research into the operation of English divorce law, it is argued that legal reforms are not of themselves enough to change the attitudes of divorcing parties to the breakdown of their marriage. Reform should take into account the dynamics of the process of breakdown, in particular, the likelihood that the parties will have different attitudes to the breakdown of the relationship.     

论权利与义务的经济分析

权利是利益通过社会转化而成的资源,具有经济学中商品所具有的一般性质;义务是权利主体所付出的成本;权利和义务都能够实现在全社会范围内的分配。二者均具有某种利益的冲突性。     

Protection against Unfair Contracts: An Economic Analysis of European Regulation

After considering the possible outcomes that may result from the interaction between potential contract parties, this paper discusses potential causes of inefficiency and investigates how the law affects conditions that would give rise to inefficiency. The analysis is focussed on the European regulation of standard form contracts. This regulation implies that unfair terms in standard form contracts are unenforceable in Member States of the European Community, and can be interpreted as a measure to curtail the adverse selection problem that originates in the fact that contract parties may use standard form contracts. This paper investigates the welfare implication of this protection against unfair contracts.     

Social Security, Poverty and Economic Transition: An Analysis for Bulgaria 1992–96

The paper addresses the issues of poverty and social security in a transitional environment on the basis of recent economic developments in Bulgaria. Special emphasis is placed on the need for a new type of social safety net stemming from the radical changes in the political and economic system. The evolution of the social security system in Bulgaria during the transition is analysed focusing on such elements as the pension system, unemployment benefits, child allowances, etc. The empirical analysis is based on extensive use of data from the Bulgarian Household Budget Surveys during the period 1992–1996. Poverty in Bulgaria is measured using different poverty measurements and some quantitative results showing the changing dimensions of poverty in the transition period are presented and discussed in the paper.     

机动车责任保险制度在机动车事故中的作用

机动车责任保险在交通安全管理中起着抑制交通灾害,促进民事责任制度发展的重要的作用。我国虽然实行了机动车第三者责任强制保险制度,但仍然存在一定的缺陷。解决的对策是应改变责任限额全国统一数额的规定;同时扩大道路交通事故社会救助基金单一的垫付抢救费的职能,增设机动车事故人身伤害补偿金制度。     

Protecting Homemakers' Marriage-Specific Investments under No-Fault Divorce: A Model for Restructuring Alimony in Civil Law Countries

The radical reform of Greek family law in 1983 included theintroduction of no-fault divorce. This study examines the impactof the new liberalized divorce law on the well-being of homemakersin long-duration traditional marriages. We reviewed a sampleof reported judicial decisions on postdivorce maintenance andfound that Greek judges render restrictive interpretations ofthe general standards of need, adequacy, and sufficiency. Weconclude that judges have failed to compensate full-time homemakersfor their nonpecuniary contributions, and we propose a reliance-basedalimony model that judges can use to protect financially weakerspouses upon divorce.     

经营者论:基于经济法规范与原理的分析

根据现行经济法规范的规定,将经营者定位为"经济法上的人"之一是合适的。如要突显经营者的经济法主体属性,必须认识到"经营者"这一范畴具有多重属性。应在考察法律经验意义上的经营者的基础上,用富有经济法标签意义的经济法理念去阐释经营者的概念,从逻辑上推导出应然法上的经营者的内涵,并应着力建构和规整经营者的权利义务结构。