A Complete Characterization of Efficient Liability Rules: Comment

In a recent article, Jain and Singh (2002) prove that a condition they call negligence liability is necessary and sufficient for any liability rule to be efficient. In this note I criticize their result on two accounts: First, their result crucially depends on implicit restrictions they impose on the liability assignment function. If we drop the assumption that the liability apportionment between two non-negligent parties is constant for all combinations of non-negligent care levels, the equivalence between the condition of negligence liability and the efficiency of liability rules breaks down. Second, their attempt to drop the assumption of uniqueness for the social optimum improves the generality of the model at a substantial cost, since it must be accompanied by a new assumption that is possibly even more unrealistic. The importance of the uniqueness assumption is shown in a simple discrete care model, in which comparative negligence may lead to an inefficient outcome when the existence of two social optima leads us to interpret due care as a varying standard based on the other partys actual choice.     

Smoothing the waves of pension funding: Could changes in funding rules help avoid cyclical under‐funding?

Defined benefit pensions are still an important part of retirement income security for 44 million people. After 2000, these plans experienced extreme difficulties. Although the magnitude of the problem was unprecedented, its causes were not. Interest rate and asset prices decline in a recession, when earnings are low. Pension funding rules reflect this regularity. This requires additional contributions when times are bad. We address this counter‐cyclicality through three proposed rule changes. We use a simulation model to evaluate these. Our results indicate that counter‐cyclicality would have diminished, while funding adequacy would have improved.     

大陆法系中两合公司之立法研究

2006年1月1日开始实施的新《公司法》仍然没有规定两合公司,难以解决现实中存在的相关问题。因为在我国现实中的确存在事实上的“责任两合”的公司,因此对两合公司进行研究并在未来的公司法修改时考虑两合公司的问题具有重要价值。作者主要从两合公司的法律特点、成立、内部关系与外部关系、变更、解散和清算方面进行了论述,以期对我国公司法研究与立法有所裨益。     

产品责任归责理论的经济分析--"东芝风波"引起的思考

本文对“东芝风波”进行了分析，通过中美产品责任法律制度的比较，寻找“东芝风波”的法律根源。经济分析方法的引入，进一步证明了严格责任较过错责任更加有效率，更能实现对厂商行为的规制，对广大消费者合法权益的保护。在此基础上，提出在立法过程中适当采用经济分析方法的建议。     

我国开发环境责任保险的必要性与可行性分析

环境责任保险有利于维护公众的利益,有利于企业经营的稳定,有利于对环境污染的监管,有利于我国保险业的发展,有利于社会的安定,也有利于国家财政负担的减轻。但是,由于环境责任风险具有基本风险的特征,导致保险公司的经营风险增加,影响了保险公司的开发积极性;价格偏高制约了投保人的有效需求;公众维护自身权益的意识有待加强以及相关法律、法规不完善也严重地阻碍了环境责任保险的开发,因此,政府应该通过税收优惠、强制保险和完善法律、法规扶持环境责任保险的开发,保险业应通过限制保险金额、规定绝对免赔额和利用再保险降低和转移经营风险,厂家应积极购买环境责任保险来转移环境责任风险。     

工业循环经济的4R原则

Traditional 3R-rulea have been regarded as behaviour rules.for developing recycling economy. However. with the development of modern advanced manufacturing techniquea, the important vatue of remanufacturing in promoting recycling economy has been given more and more attention to in revere years. Remanufaeturtng engineering technology, which utilizes advanced sub;face engineering and forming technology, produces directly with useable components of scraped machines. It can conserve the most of materials （about 83%-95%） and energy （about 80-85%） of ortginal prodacts with less pollution. By remamifacturing, we can reduce resources consumption under the condition of meeting the needs of social and economic development. Remanufacturing is an advanced method for recycling economy in industry Therefore, we think that the rules of .ecycting economy in industry could be extended from 3 R-rules to 4R-rules. The 4R-rules optimal sequence would be reduce,reuse. remanufacture, and recycle.     

智力负债研究述评

描述了现有的智力负债研究文献的总体特征,然后分别从概念、计量和管理等角度分析了智力负债研究的现状,最后展望了智力负债的未来研究方向。     

Environmental liability and the capital structure of firms

This paper analyses the impact of environmental liability regimes on the capital structure of firms. We show that imposing environmental liability only on polluting firms, with limited liability, increases use of bank debt. Extending environmental liability to banks lowers bank borrowing relative to liability only on firms, with an ambiguous effect relative to no liability. Using US industry-level data we estimate a reduced-form model of bank borrowing by firms and show that the introduction of environmental liability only on firms increased bank borrowing by 15–20%, but when liability was extended to banks, borrowing returned to a level slightly higher than with no liability.     

美国证券法的默示民事责任对我国的借鉴作用

美国证券法的默示民事责任是指法律没有明确规定,但法官可以根据证券法的立法意图和基本原则而给予当事人民事诉权的民事责任。笔者阐述了美国证券法的默示民事责任产生的原因、理论依据及条件,同时分析了我国证券民事责任的缺点,提出了借鉴美国的默示民事责任来完善我国证券民事责任的方案。     

论我国实行强制性环境责任保险制度的可行性——以环境责任保险制度的发展演进为视角

近年来,我国经济的高速发展带来了大量的社会问题,日益严重的环境污染问题就是其中之一。为了治理环境污染,提高污染企业的环境保护意识,我国于20世纪90年代初开始试行环境责任保险,经历了从任意性责任保险到强制性责任保险的发展历程,发展思路和模式也逐渐清晰,当前已经具备构建强制性环境责任保险制度的基本条件。实行强制性环境责任保险与企业社会责任理念相契合,投保环境责任保险是企业承担社会责任的方式之一。近年来我国政府相继出台了一系列推进强制性环境责任保险制度发展的规定,为制度构建奠定了政策基础。2014年4月24日新修订的《环境保护法》第52条明确规定国家鼓励投保环境强制责任保险,为制度构建提供了法律依据。我国在船舶油污损害强制责任保险和交强险方面的立法和实践可以为制度构建提供参考,同时在保险模式选择上可以借鉴西方国家成熟的环境责任保险制度。     

责任保险的强化及其措施探析

近30年来,责任保险在世界范围内得到了迅速发展,在中国的适用及研究进展缓慢。对责任保险的认识从更新的层面,即投保人、受损害公众、社会三者利益保护入手,实现“三赢”,并从此视角去审视责任保险,强化责任保险,并采取强制等措施予以保障。     

论药品侵权责任中的若干法律问题

药品侵权责任是一种特殊的产品责任,它是产品责任的下位概念。这种产品责任的构成与一般产品责任有所区别,主要表现在药品缺陷的判断标准应采用不合理危险标准,而非质量标准;在缺陷与损害之间因果关系理论的适用上提出疫学因果关系和市场占有率决定因果关系适用的可能性;为确保受害人的合法权益,发展缺陷或科技抗辩不能作为责任的免除事由。     

The BMW Model: A New Framework for Teaching Monetary Economics

Abstract: Although the IS/LM-AS/AD model is still the central tool of macroeconomic teaching in most macroeconomic textbooks, it has been criticized by several economists. Colander (1995) demonstrated that the framework is logically inconsistent, Romer (2000) showed that it is unable to deal with a monetary policy that uses the interest rate as its operating target, and Walsh criticized that it is not well suited for an analysis of inflation targeting. The authors present a framework that develops the Romer approach into a very simple but, at the same time, comprehensive macroeconomic model. In spite of its simplicity, it can carry the main insights of the New Keynesian macroeconomics to an intermediate level and deal with issues like inflation targeting, monetary policy rules, and central bank credibility.     

环境污染赔偿责任保险制度可行性基础研究

作为环境污染责任保险之一的环境污染赔偿责任保险在美国、德国等西方发达国家以及巴西、印度等发达国家已趋于完善,并对环境的保护和纠纷的解决发挥了重要作用。然而,由于种种原因,该制度目前在我国只处于政策层面,尚没有上升为法律,在政策的指导之下,地方各自为战开展环境污染责任保险制度,虽然取得了一些成绩,但也存在诸多问题,迫切需要国家立法机关对制度制定统一的法律、法规,因此对其理论基础、实践基础等方面展开深入研究,对于环境污染赔偿责任保险制度的构建具有重要意义。     

Monetary policy rules with PID control features: evidence from the UK,USA and EU

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the extent to which the monetary policy operations of three major central banks can be regarded as an application of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control rules. The paper outlines the general PID framework and estimates a series of dynamic models to identify how interest rate policy adjustments are affected by the rate of inflation and the level of macroeconomic activity. The paper examines data for the UK, the USA and the Eurozone. The results suggest that the PID rules can provide a useful theoretical and empirical framework for estimating central bank responses to the inflation and macroeconomic activity variables by improving the explanatory power of the Taylor rule model and determining the effect of the parameters.     

The Methodological and the Ethical Context of Positive Economics: Comment on McKenzie

This article employs the number of rule recipients in order to explain the transformation of some customs into laws. The publication of rules may mark the reaching of the threshold number beyond which the spontaneous rule leaves room for the State intervention. In addition, the publication resolves a couple of questions that Hayek left unresolved. Examples are provided from ancient merchant customs and contemporary international law.     

负债与流动性:抑制还是协同

负债和流动性的关系是资本结构的一个新问题.负债之于流动性,是相互抑制还是协同,成为近年来有争议的话题.一般而言,负债比率和流动性会因为上市公司所处的行业不同而有很大的差别.基于以上认识,本文试图在已有研究成果基础上有所突破,结合实证检验,按行业研究我国上市公司负债和流动性的关系.因地制宜地采取措施,提升企业价值,会对上市公司有更切合实际的的理论和现实指导意义.     

A note on corporate taxation,limited liability,and asymmetric information

Becker and Fuest (this issue, p. 1–10) provides a new explanation for the link between limited liability and corporate taxation. The authors argue that a corporate tax on all entrepreneurs with limited liability is optimal when entrepreneurs can offset potential losses and when asymmetric information exists regarding projects’ qualities. This note considers a model with a slightly modified production technology. It confirms that entrepreneurs’ abilities to offset losses and the existence of asymmetric information may affect government policy. However, it also shows that the optimal taxation policy differs from that suggested by Becker and Fuest.      

Why is there Corporate Taxation? The Role of Limited Liability Revisited

Most economists reject the idea that corporate taxation should be interpreted as a price for the privilege of limited liability. In this paper, we reconsider this idea and show that limited liability can lead to overinvestment if information is incomplete. In this setting, introducing an additional tax on limited liability contracts is welfare-enhancing. Our model thus offers an explanation for the nexus between double taxation and limited liability observed in many existing tax systems.      

有限责任合伙制会计师事务所民事责任若干疑难问题研究

有限责任合伙制是西方国家大会计师事务所普遍采用的组织形式,我国政府为了加快会计师事务所的做大做强,也在采取相应措施推动大中型会计师事务所采用有限责任合伙制组织形式。而系统研究和解决有限责任合伙制会计师事务所民事责任的一些重大问题,如对故意、重大过失、过失的界定,如何把损失赔偿额在各虚假陈述行为主体之间特别是合伙人之间进行分配,以及与此相关的配套措施的建立和完善,将有助于有限责任合伙制会计师事务所的做大做强,最终实现跨越式发展。