Simple rules for the developing world

Much of the discussion in favor of simplicity of legal rules and against complex regulation is rooted in economically developed countries with strong state capacity. With economic development and state capacity comes the presumption that complex rules will be enforced. Therefore, analysis focuses on the administrative and error costs, and the unintended consequences of complex rules that are enforced. This paper argues that the Epsteinian insight is even more relevant to the developing world where countries often lack enough state capacity to even take on simple governance tasks. Developing countries often have less than 20 percent of the state capacity of developed countries. However, this does not mean they limit the regulatory structure to a fifth of the tasks. Under-enforcement or non-enforcement of complex rules imposes different costs and unintended consequences on society. Using examples from India, this paper highlights problems of enforcement swamping, deadweight loss, and corruption arising from the under-enforcement of complex rules. To avoid these problems, the paper concludes that a fortiori less developed countries should favor simple rules.

     

Suicide by Fatal Pentobarbital Intoxication in Ontario,Canada, from 2012 to 2015

A fatal concentration of pentobarbital found in a coroner's case where the history had not indicated use of this drug prompted a review of fatalities in Ontario from 2012 to 2015. Coroner's case files, including police and toxicology reports, were reviewed in twenty deaths, in which pentobarbital was identified as the primary cause of death. In all of the deaths (11 females, 9 males), the blood concentration of pentobarbital was greater than 10 mg/L. There were three to eight deaths per year and each was classified as suicide. In 11 cases, there was clear evidence that the drug was purchased over the internet from Mexico or China and imported into Canada. In four cases, it appears that the pentobarbital was labeled as a different, innocuous chemical to facilitate crossing the border without scrutiny. The findings underscore the value of a thorough scene investigation, including details of evidence that may be considered unrelated.     

Denatured Ricin Can Be Detected as Native Ricin by Immunological Methods,but Nontoxic In Vivo

Abstract: Ricin is a glycoprotein from Ricinus communis seeds. It is known to have diverse toxic effects on cells of different visceral organs. In the present study, we purified and denatured ricin in a boiling water bath for different time intervals. We further made an attempt to identify native and denatured ricin by immunobased detection systems. All the antigen/antibody‐based assays identified native and denatured ricin. On SDS–PAGE, only native ricin was observed. In western blotting, ricin boiled for 3.75 min gave a strong band on X‐ray film. On native polyacryl amide gel electrophoresis, native and denatured ricin gave ricin band in 60‐kDa region. The denatured ricin did cause mortality up to 25 mg/kg, while 5 and 10 μg/kg of native ricin caused 50% and 100% mortality, respectively. Detection of native and denatured ricin is very difficult, and the investigating agencies, forensic scientists, and analysts should be very careful while interpreting the results.     

Introduction to the special issue on the importance of Simple Rules for a Complex World

European Journal of Law and Economics -