Lawyers, Legislation and Social Welfare

Efficiency considerations have played an increasing role in the development of legal doctrine over the last decades. Our paper investigates the consequences of the efficiency doctrine for the long run allocation of human resources between the legal profession and other professional activities. It is argued that a short run pursuit of the efficient scope of legislation may create an inefficient oversupply of lawyers under free entry into the legal profession. Self-regulation of entry into the legal profession by the bar association may provide higher aggregate welfare. Liberalization of professional entry can explain both the expansion of legislative activity and the unprecedented growth rate of the legal profession in many countries.     

A Greener Future

In the past year, extreme weather events have erupted across the globe, and 2010 looks to be one of the hottest years in recorded history. That has placed an onus on the Cancun conference to prompt     

Socioeconomic impacts of the proposed federal gaming tax

We review the history of gaming and its taxation in the U.S., particularly in regard to the idea of “sin taxes” which were often presented as policy instruments intended to control problem gamblers. The review suggests that raising taxes neither encourages moderation nor replaces negative external costs. We follow the review with a socioeconomic impact analysis of a proposed four percent Federal Gaming Tax by simulating its impact on Clark County, Nevada for the period 1995-2004 using a large scale econometric multi-regional model. Clark County is of interest because it is where Las Vegas is located. The analysis reveals that the proposed tax would lead to a measurable decline in Clark County's jobs, population, disposable income, and total industrial during the forecast period. By 2004, total industrial output would be 1.3 percent lower under the proposed tax and Clark County would experience a loss of $1.39 in real disposable income for every gaming tax dollar collected by Federal Government. These reductions, coupled particularly with the loss of thousands of jobs in Las Vegas area hotels/casinos predicted by the analysis suggest that increased demands on social services in Clark County would result. These findings, together with the lack of evidence that raising taxes would promote moderation or reduce external negative costs, lead us to argue that excise taxes represent an unattractive option.     

Feigning Hand Preference? A Case Report Preliminary Data

Hand preference may be crucial in the forensic domain, notably in cases where the assailant is known to be left‐handed and the defendant claims to be right‐handed (or vice versa). In such cases, forensic psychologists or physicians may be asked to test the hand preference of the defendant. However, hand preference may be faked. The case described here illustrates this problem and addresses potential solutions. We also present preliminary data showing that a standard instrument for measuring handedness is sensitive to feigning. We conclude that when hand preference is determined, multiple sources of information should be assessed in order to identify possible feigning.     

The Verifiability Approach to detection of malingered physical symptoms

Inspired by recent research showing that liars are reluctant to include verifiable details in their accounts, we explored in two studies (N?=?125; N?=?105) whether participants who report fabricated symptoms (‘malingerers’) present fewer verifiable details than participants who report genuine ill-health symptoms. In Study 1, participants were instructed to describe a typical day on which they had experienced a genuine or malingered symptom. Truth tellers’ statements included significantly higher proportions of verifiable details concerning the reported symptoms than malingerers’ statements. Compared with truth tellers, malingerers generated longer statements with more unverifiable details. In Study 2, we informed participants that their statements may be assessed for verifiable or checkable details. Malingerers often mentioned ‘false’ witnesses to provide checkable information and differences between malingerers and truth tellers in statement length, and checkable and uncheckable details were no longer significant. The utility and implications of the Verifiability Approach to detection of malingering are discussed.     

Neonatal freshwater drowning after birth in the bathroom

The macroscopic and microscopic findings in neonatal freshwater drowning are demonstrated on the basis of 3 exemplary cases of birth in the bathroom after concealed pregnancy. If the newborn is expelled under water and remains there until death, the lungs cannot be ventilated with air. In case of incomplete or only temporary submersion, aeration of the lungs may develop in the immediate postpartum period. The morphologic criteria of separate existence are critically discussed with respect to the presented findings.     

Provision of health services to irregular migrants with a special focus on children

All European countries are now facing a situation where a part of the population consists of migrants without a permit to stay or reside. These persons may have health problems, and the question then rises regarding health services to irregular migrants. Normally, welfare benefits are offered those with a relationship to the country concerned, as citizen, asylum seeker, tourist, etc. Irregular migrants are outside the society, and it could be suggested that they therefore should be denied health services. On the other hand, common European standards of humanity lay obligations on the States, for example, where situations are life-threatening. This contribution gives an overview of relevant legal instruments, both from the UN, Council of Europe and the European Union. Although there are many similarities, the instruments have their differences, and there may even be some tensions regarding the underlying values.