Technology and torts: Memory costs, nondurable precautions and interference effects

This article examines the influence of nondurable precaution technologies on the expansion of tort awards. We provide four contributions to the literature. First, we present a general, formal model on durable and non-durable precaution technology that focuses on memory costs. Second, because liability exposure creates interference, we argue that tort law perpetuates the expansion of awards. Third, because plaintiffs do not consider the social costs of interference effects, private litigation induces socially excessive suits. Fourth, while new harm-reducing technologies likely increase accident rates, such technologies also raise the ratio of trial costs to harm, leaving undetermined the overall effect of new technologies on the rate of litigation.     

The policy-making dimension of post-conflict governance: the experience of Aceh,Indonesia

Rebuilding and strengthening the essential functions of government is a critical aspect of peace-building and recovery after conflict. There is now a wide literature on the challenges of post-conflict state-building based on the international community's experiences in such places as Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of this literature is concerned with the challenges of strengthening administration and service provision—what might be loosely called the policy implementation functions of government. Much less attention has been given to the policy formulation capacities of post-conflict governments. This is surprising given the importance of conflict-sensitive policies for peace-building and for laying the foundations for economic growth and employment. Many post-conflict governments lack capacity for policy development—a gap that is often filled by international technical assistance. In cases where the international community is providing support to a reasonably functioning government after a conflict, this study argues that more attention needs to be given to the government's policy-making capacity. Using the experience of post-conflict Aceh as a prism, the study argues that technical advice can be too easily wasted unless there is concomitant support for developing the institutional infrastructure needed to manage advice and to prepare options for political deliberation and choice.     

论好生活与公民教育

普世道德的幸福生活价值往往基于宗教信仰、传统文化或人本价值的道德观。它不仅是幸福的来源,也提供获得幸福的途径。好的公共生活所必需具备的基本价值,是由公民社会而不是靠国家权力维持和再生的。历史上许多对"幸福"的政治狂躁追求,都是由国家权力主导,结果是灾难性的。今天,要造就一种能够持续有效的幸福观和好生活观,恐怕还要从加强公民教育,建立好的公共生活价值观开始。     

Why Inconclusiveness is a Problem for Public Reason

Law and Philosophy - Most theorists of public reason, including both its proponents and critics, now accept that it is inconclusive, meaning that its correct application can result in a plurality...     

在变革中发展深化的中国经济法学

中国经济法学在发展历程中,经历了经济法的表面繁荣到相对沉寂。从各种学说林立众说纷纭,到渐趋一致基本赞同经济法调整市场竞争关系和宏观调控关系;从单纯关注经济法基础理论到注重实用性研究;从以前苏联为蓝本创建体系到立足中国市场体制和中国实践提出新的学说理论。但是在演进过程中,仍然存在一些危及经济法发展的倾向,如务实变成了惟实,厌恶甚至否弃经济法基础理论的研究;盛行引经据典之风反而销蚀了独立思考的能力;不规范的学术批评损害了经济法学术共同体的建立;固执和偏见阻碍经济法学科的建设;被补充的智识、被援引的方法和被转换的视角与经济法学本体结合不紧,还没有真正彻底地经济法学化。经济法具有突出的国别性和本土化特性,因此经济法研究应立足本国,自主创新,中国的本土资源能够促成中国经济法(学)自主发展。     

Litigation,Judicial Path-Dependence,and Legal Change

In this paper we consider the role that litigation and case selection play in the process of legal change. After identifying two necessary conditions for litigation, we examine the effect of judicial path dependence on the consolidation of liability rules and legal remedies, paying special attention to litigation with different win–loss ratios. We study the consequence of private litigation decisions on the contraction or consolidation of legal rules under various litigation and judicial environments. We also consider the relevance of the win–loss ratios, the existence and nature of positive litigation costs, and the weight of past precedents on the ongoing process of legal evolution.JEL K0, K40, K13, K41     

Micro-finance evangelism, 'destitute women', and the hard selling of a new anti-poverty formula

This article challenges the recent uncritical enthusiasm for the potential of micro-finance institutions to reduce poverty. It is argued that, although understanding about how to design anti-poverty financial intermediation has improved, the current campaign to increase resource allocation in this sector may undermine the very sustainability that is being sought. Further, studies of the impact of micro-enterprise credit suggest that it is not necessarily beneficial to very poor people. Interventions in the provision of financial services should not be made without locally specific analysis of the functions of existing savings and credit facilities. An emphasis on scale acts as a disincentive to such analysis, and increases the risk of the reemergence of a 'blueprint' approach to anti-poverty action.     

Velocity necessary for a BB to penetrate the eye: an experimental study using pig eyes

PURPOSE: To determine the V-50 threshold velocity needed for a steel BB to penetrate the eye of a 230-pound pig. METHOD: BBs were shot at a distance of 10 feet into the corneas of pig eyes with a pump-action BB gun. RESULTS: The V-50 velocity for corneal penetration and serious disruption of the eye was found to be 246 ft/sec. CONCLUSION: Due to the nearly identical size and anatomy of the human eye to the pig eyes used in this study, it is felt that 246 ft/sec is a reasonable approximation of the velocity needed to penetrate the human eye.