期刊-NBER美国国民经济研究局-2014number4_36页_2mb

NBER Reporter Summary - 2014 Number 4

Core Content

The NBER Reporter for 2014 Number 4 provides an overview of recent research in the Law and Economics program, highlighting studies on property law, criminal law, contract law, tort law, and the operation of the legal process. It also discusses consumer protection, workplace regulation, and corporate law and governance. The report includes summaries of key research papers and mentions of the NBER's board of directors, funding sources, and subscription information.

Main Topics and Key Research

Property Law, Criminal Law, Contract Law, and Tort Law

• Tort Law: Daniel Carvell, Janet Currie, and W. Bentley MacLeod studied the effects of limiting joint and several liability in tort. Their findings suggest that limiting liability increases precautionary behavior by defendants who might otherwise avoid responsibility.
• Criminal Law: Giovanni Mastrobuoni examined the impact of predictive policing on robbery clearance rates, finding that it significantly increases these rates. Jennifer Doleac's research on DNA databases shows that they lead to higher probabilities of catching offenders and lower crime rates in categories where forensic evidence is collected.
• Criminal Law Enforcement: Decio Coviello and Nicola Persico analyzed racial disparities in New York City's "stop and frisk" policy, finding that African-Americans are more likely to be arrested following a stop, but this may not be due to unwarranted stops.
• Contract Law: Research by Patrick Bolton and Antoine Faure-Grimaud explores contractual incompleteness and the role of deliberation time costs. Oliver Hart and John Moore, along with Hart and Maija Halonen-Akatwijuka, link contractual incompleteness to the costs of reference points.
• Property Law: Gary Libecap and Dean Lueck found that uniform rectangular land demarcation systems in Ohio provide significant net benefits compared to decentralized systems based on land features.

The Operation of the Legal Process

• Burden of Proof: Louis Kaplow's research models the optimal burden of proof, highlighting the trade-off between deterrence and chilling of desirable behavior. Factors such as the nature of the case and potential outcomes are crucial in determining this optimal burden.
• Settlement Agreements: J.J. Prescott, Kathryn Spier, and Albert Yoon studied high-low agreements, which limit outlier awards by setting bounds on recovery. Their model suggests these agreements can reduce the risk of extreme outcomes.
• Courtroom Behavior: Moses Shayo and Asaf Zussman found evidence of judicial ingroup bias in Israeli small claims courts, with judges favoring cases involving individuals from their own group. This bias is exacerbated by recent terrorism intensity.
• Jury Age and Conviction Outcomes: Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, and Randi Hjalmarsson examined the role of juror age in U.S. felony trials, finding that older jurors may influence conviction rates.

Consumer Protection, Workplace Regulation, and Corporate Law and Governance

• Consumer Financial Protection: Sumit Agarwal, Souphala Chomsisengphet, Neale Mahoney, and Johannes Stroebel found that the CARD Act significantly reduced credit card borrowing costs, without increasing interest charges or reducing credit volume.
• Consumer Discrimination: Ian Ayres, Mahzarin Banaji, and the author conducted a field experiment on eBay, showing that items held in African-American hands received lower seller revenue than those held in white hands.
• Bankruptcy and Liquidity Constraints: Tal Gross, Matthew Notowidigdo, and Jialan Wang found that tax rebate receipt increases bankruptcy filings in the short run, supporting the liquidity constraint hypothesis.
• Discharge Laws and Innovation: Viral Acharya, Ramin Baghai, and Krishnamurthy Subramanian found that tighter discharge laws may foster innovation by reducing employer opportunism.
• Family Values and Labor Regulation: Alberto Alesina, Yann Algan, Pierre Cahuc, and Paola Giuliano explored the relationship between labor market structures and family values, finding a positive correlation.
• Corporate Governance and CEO Pay: Kelly Shue and Richard Townsend examined the rise in CEO pay, attributing it to option rigidities and regulatory changes. Kose John and Dalida Kadyrzhanova studied agency costs related to idiosyncratic volatility and corporate governance.

Key Research Papers and Authors

• Daniel Carvell, Janet Currie, W. Bentley MacLeod: "Accidental Death and the Rule of Joint and Several Liability"
• Giovanni Mastrobuoni: "Crime is Terribly Revealing: An Evaluation of Predictive Policing"
• Jennifer Doleac: "The Effects of DNA Databases on Crime"
• Decio Coviello and Nicola Persico: "An Economic Analysis of Black-White Disparities in NYPD's Stop and Frisk Program"
• Patrick Bolton and Antoine Faure-Grimaud: "Satisficing Contracts"
• Oliver Hart and John Moore: "Contracts as Reference Points"
• Gary Libecap and Dean Lueck: "The Demarcation of Land and the Role of Coordinating Institutions"
• Louis Kaplow: "On the Optimal Burden of Proof"
• J.J. Prescott, Kathryn Spier, and Albert Yoon: "Trial and Settlement: A Study of High-Low Agreements"
• Andrew Daughety and Jennifer Reinganum: "A Dynamic Model of Lawsuit Joinder and Settlement"
• Moses Shayo and Asaf Zussman: "Judicial Ingroup Bias in the Shadow of Terrorism"
• Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, and Randi Hjalmarsson: "The Role of Age in Jury Selection and Trial Outcomes"
• Sumit Agarwal, Souphala Chomsisengphet, Neale Mahoney, and Johannes Stroebel: "Regulating Consumer Financial Products: Evidence from Credit Cards"
• Tal Gross, Matthew Notowidigdo, and Jialan Wang: "Liquidity Constraints and Consumer Bankruptcy"
• Viral Acharya, Ramin Baghai, and Krishnamurthy Subramanian: "Labor Laws and Innovation"
• Alberto Alesina, Yann Algan, Pierre Cahuc, and Paola Giuliano: "Family Values and the Regulation of Labor"
• Kelly Shue and Richard Townsend: "Growth Through Rigidity: An Explanation of the Rise of CEO Pay"
• Kose John and Dalida Kadyrzhanova: "Agency Costs of Idiosyncratic Volatility, Corporate Governance, and Investment"

Additional Highlights

• Ryan Kellogg is a Research Associate in the NBER Programs on Energy and Environmental Economics and Industrial Organization. His work focuses on how oil price shocks affect producers and consumers.
• Cushing Oil Glut: Kellogg and Severin Borenstein analyzed the divergence between WTI and Brent crude oil prices, attributing it to pipeline capacity constraints and the export ban. They found that local gasoline prices did not respond to the oil glut, suggesting that Midwest refiners benefited more.
• Consumer Price Expectations: Soren T. Anderson, James M. Sallee, and Kellogg examined consumer expectations about future gasoline prices, finding that consumers expect no change in prices over time and believe shocks are persistent.
• Oil Supply Modeling: Kellogg and colleagues found that oil production from existing wells is essentially price-inelastic, while drilling investment and rig rental costs respond significantly to price shocks.
• Oil Price Volatility: The report notes that oil price volatility has varied over time, with periods of stability followed by sharp swings. This volatility has implications for investment and consumer behavior.

Conclusion

The NBER Reporter highlights a range of studies that contribute to the understanding of legal and economic interactions, particularly in the areas of tort law, criminal law, contract law, and consumer behavior. The research underscores the importance of legal frameworks in shaping economic outcomes and the need for policy analysis in response to market shocks and regulatory changes. It also emphasizes the role of empirical studies in evaluating the effectiveness of legal and economic policies.