Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Legal Standards (legal + standards)
Selected AbstractsON OPTIMAL LEGAL STANDARDS FOR COMPETITION POLICY: A GENERAL WELFARE-BASED ANALYSIS,THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2009YANNIS KATSOULACOS We present a new welfare-based framework for optimally choosing legal standards (decision rules). We formalise the decision-theoretic considerations widely discussed in the existing literature by capturing the quality of the underlying analysis and information available to a regulatory authority, and we obtain a precise necessary and sufficient set of conditions for determining when an Economics or Effects-Based approach would be able to discriminate effectively between benign and harmful actions and consequently dominate per se as a decision-making procedure. We then show that in a full welfare-based approach, the choice between legal standards must additionally take into account, (i) indirect (deterrence) effects of the choice of standard on the behaviour of all firms when deciding whether or not to adopt a particular practice; and (ii) procedural effects of certain features of the administrative process in particular delays in reaching decisions; and the investigation of only a fraction of the actions taking place. We therefore derive necessary and sufficient conditions for adopting Discriminating Rules, as advocated by the Effects-Based approach. We also examine what type of Discriminating rule will be optimal under different conditions that characterise different business practices. We apply our framework to two recent landmark decisions , Microsoft vs. EU Commission (2007) and Leegin vs. PSKS (2007) , in which a change in legal standards has been proposed, and show that it can powerfully clarify and enhance the arguments deployed in these cases. [source] Optimization of the simultaneous removal of nitrogen and organic matter from fishery wastewatersENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 3 2005Estrella Aspé Abstract Anaerobic treatment of saline and protein-rich effluents reduces the organic concentration but forms ammonium that hinders nitrogen removal in a later aerobic treatment. The goal of this work was to optimize the design of a denitrifying,nitrifying system for the simultaneous removal of organic matter and nitrogenous compounds from fishery effluents to meet the Chilean legal standards and to compare pre- and postdenitrification processes in the biological treatment of high-strength effluents to minimize the total volume of biological reactors required. A predenitrifying system, that included three reactors,acidifying anaerobic filter, denitrifying (anoxic) filter, and aerobic-active sludge (nitrifying reactor) with recycle to the denitrifying reactor,reduced nitrogen to 0.33 g of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) L,1, well above the allowed 0.05 g total nitrogen L,1. The predenitrifying system with a second denitrifying reactor, to which organic matter was added, met the legal organic matter and nitrogen emission concentrations (0.042 g TAN L,1). Conversions were 99.0, 92.5, 90.9, and 99.0% for the anaerobic digestion, first denitrification, nitrification, and second denitrification, respectively. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2005 [source] Effects of alcohol on risk-taking during simulated drivingHUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 3 2002Scott E. Burian Abstract The effect of alcohol on judgement or conscious risk-taking may increase the likelihood of an automobile accident. This study examined the direct effects of penalty severity and alcohol on risk-taking in a novel simulated-driving lane-choice task. Thirteen male social drinkers received alcohol (0.3,g/kg, 0.5,g/kg, 0.8,g/kg) or placebo during each of four test sessions in a randomized, within subject design. In repeated trials, subjects selected, then drove through a cone-defined lane. Contingent upon performance, points were added (+,5 for the narrower lane, +,3 for the wider lane) and taken away (,,1, ,,3, or ,,5 points per hit cone) after each trial. Risk-taking was defined as a selection of the narrower-width lane. The frequency of risk-taking decreased as the penalty increased. The 0.5,g/kg dose, compared to other alcohol doses or placebo, significantly increased risk-taking in the high-risk (5-point penalty) condition. This finding suggests that breath alcohol concentrations within current legal standards can alter a driver's decision-making such that the willingness to enter a high-risk situation is increased. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] NGRI Revisited: Venirepersons' Attitudes Toward the Insanity Defense,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 8 2006Brooke Butler Three hundred venirepersons from the 12th Judicial Circuit in Sarasota, Florida completed the following booklet of stimulus materials: one question measuring participants' level of support for insanity defense; a 16-item measure assessing participants' attitudes toward the myths associated with the insanity defense, the legal definitions of insanity, and mental illness; a case scenario; verdict preference; and standard demographic questions. Level of support for the insanity defense was significantly related to participants' attitudes toward legal standards of insanity, mental illness, and the myths associated with the insanity defense. In addition, results indicated that level of support for the insanity defense, age, educational level, occupation, type of prior jury service, and political views were significantly related to verdict preference. Notably, three factors that have been found to impact verdict preference in previous research failed to do so in the current study: participants' experience with psychological disorders; participants' exposure to psychotropic medications; and participants' experience with psychologists or psychiatrists. The findings both replicate and extend earlier findings by suggesting that attitudes toward the insanity defense are more complex than previously imagined. [source] Perceptual error and the culture of open disclosure in Australian radiologyJOURNAL OF MEDICAL IMAGING AND RADIATION ONCOLOGY, Issue 3 2006AG Pitman Summary The work of diagnostic radiology consists of the complete detection of all abnormalities in an imaging examination and their accurate diagnosis. Errors in diagnostic radiology comprise perceptual errors, which are a failure of detection, and interpretation errors, which are errors of diagnosis. Perceptual errors are subject to rules of human perception and can be expected in a proportion of observations by any human observer including a trained professional under ideal conditions. Current legal standards of medical negligence make no allowance for perceptual errors, comparing human performance to an ideal standard. Diagnostic radiology in Australia has a culture of open disclosure, where full unbiased evidence from an examination is provided to the patient together with the report. This practice benefits the public by allowing genuine differences of opinion and also by allowing a second chance of correct diagnosis in cases of perceptual error. The culture of open disclosure, which is unique to diagnostic radiology, places radiologists at distinct medicolegal disadvantage compared with other specialties. (i) Perceptual error should be acknowledged as an integral inevitable part of diagnostic radiology; (ii) culture of open disclosure should be encouraged by the profession; and (iii) a pragmatic definition of medical negligence should reflect the imperfect performance of human observers. [source] Utopia and the doubters: truth, transition and the lawLEGAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2008Colm Campbell Truth commissions have an intuitive appeal in squaring the circle of peace and accountability post-conflict, but some claims for their benefits risk utopianism. Law provides both opportunities and pitfalls for post-conflict justice initiatives, including the operation of truth commissions. Rather than adopting a heavily legalised approach, derived from Public Inquiries, an ,holistic legal model', employing social science fact-finding methodologies to explore pattern of violations, and drawing appropriately on legal standards, may provide the best option for a possible Northern Ireland truth commission. [source] ON OPTIMAL LEGAL STANDARDS FOR COMPETITION POLICY: A GENERAL WELFARE-BASED ANALYSIS,THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2009YANNIS KATSOULACOS We present a new welfare-based framework for optimally choosing legal standards (decision rules). We formalise the decision-theoretic considerations widely discussed in the existing literature by capturing the quality of the underlying analysis and information available to a regulatory authority, and we obtain a precise necessary and sufficient set of conditions for determining when an Economics or Effects-Based approach would be able to discriminate effectively between benign and harmful actions and consequently dominate per se as a decision-making procedure. We then show that in a full welfare-based approach, the choice between legal standards must additionally take into account, (i) indirect (deterrence) effects of the choice of standard on the behaviour of all firms when deciding whether or not to adopt a particular practice; and (ii) procedural effects of certain features of the administrative process in particular delays in reaching decisions; and the investigation of only a fraction of the actions taking place. We therefore derive necessary and sufficient conditions for adopting Discriminating Rules, as advocated by the Effects-Based approach. We also examine what type of Discriminating rule will be optimal under different conditions that characterise different business practices. We apply our framework to two recent landmark decisions , Microsoft vs. EU Commission (2007) and Leegin vs. PSKS (2007) , in which a change in legal standards has been proposed, and show that it can powerfully clarify and enhance the arguments deployed in these cases. [source] An Economic Justification for Open Access to Essential Medicine Patents in Developing CountriesTHE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 2 2009Sean Flynn This paper offers an economic rationale for compulsory licensing of needed medicines in developing countries. The patent system is based on a trade-off between the "deadweight losses" caused by market power and the incentive to innovate created by increased profits from monopoly pricing during the period of the patent. However, markets for essential medicines under patent in developing countries with high income inequality are characterized by highly convex demand curves, producing large deadweight losses relative to potential profits when monopoly firms exercise profit-maximizing pricing strategies. As a result, these markets are systematically ill-suited to exclusive marketing rights, a problem which can be corrected through compulsory licensing. Open licenses that permit any qualified firm to supply the market on the same terms, such as may be available under licenses of right or essential facility legal standards, can be used to mitigate the negative effects of government-granted patents, thereby increasing overall social welfare. [source] Setting standards for credible compliance and law enforcementCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2000Marcel Boyer In this paper we examine the setting of optimal legal standards to simultaneously induce parties to invest in care and to motivate law enforcers to detect violators of the law. The strategic interaction between care providers and law enforcers determines the degree of efficiency achieved by the standards. Our principal finding is that some divergence between the marginal benefits and marginal costs of providing care is required to control enforcement costs. Further, the setting of standards may effectively substitute for the setting of fines when penalties for violation are fixed. In particular, maximal fines may be welfare reducing when standards are set optimally. Nous considérons dans cet article la détermination, en information incomplète, de normes légales optimales pour à la fois inciter les citoyens à faire preuve de diligence (prévention) et motiver les agents de la paix à veiller au respect des lois. L'interaction stratégique entre citoyens et agents de la paix détermine l'efficacité des normes choisies. Notre résultat principal est à l'effet qu'un écart entre bénéfices marginaux et coûts marginaux de la diligence est nécessaire afin de réduire les coûts d'application des lois. De plus, les normes peuvent être un substitut aux amendes lorsque les pénalités pour infraction sont fixes. Des amendes maximales peuvent en particulier être contre-indiquées lorsque les normes sont optimalement déterminées. [source] | ||||||||||||||||