Libertarian Paternalism Is Not An Oxymoron

Cass R. Sunstein and Richard H. Thaler assert that while the idea of libertarian paternalism might seem to be an oxymoron, it is both possible and legitimate for private and public institutions to affect behavior while also respecting freedom of choice. Often people's preferences are ill-formed, and their choices will inevitably be influenced by default rules, framing effects, and starting points. In these circumstances, a form of paternalism cannot be avoided. Equipped with an understanding of behavioral findings of bounded rationality and bounded self-control, libertarian paternalists should attempt to steer people's choices in welfare-promoting directions without eliminating freedom of choice. Sunstein and Thaler argue that it is also possible to show how a libertarian paternalist might select among the possible options and to assess how much choice to offer. This paper gives examplesfrom many areas, including savings behavior, labor law, and consumer protection.

Perennial pastures for marginal farming country in southern Queensland. 1. Grass establishment techniques

Efficient ways to re-establish pastures are needed on land that requires a rotation between pastures and crops. We conducted trials in southern inland Queensland with a range of tropical perennial grasses sown into wheat stubble that was modified in various ways. Differing seedbed preparations involved cultivation or herbicide sprays, with or without fertilizer at sowing. Seed was broadcast and sowing time ranged from spring through to autumn on 3 different soil types. Seed quality and post-sowing rainfall were major determinants of the density of sown grass plants in the first year. Light cultivation sometimes enhanced establishment compared with herbicide spraying of standing stubble, most often on harder-setting soils. A nitrogen + phosphorus mixed fertilizer rarely produced any improvement in sown grass establishment and sometimes increased weed competition. The effects were similar for all types of grass seed from hairy fascicles to large, smooth panicoid seeds and minute Eragrostis seeds. There was a strong inverse relationship between the initial density of sown grass established and the level of weed competition

Transport of sulfur oxides within the Los Angeles sea breeze/land breeze circulation system

The sea breeze/land breeze circulation system in the Los Angeles area results in transport of pollutants seaward at night followed by return of aged material inland the next day. This characteristic wind reversal pattern both increases the retention time available for the oxidation of SO_2 to form sulfates and causes individual air parcels to make multiple passes over large coastal emissions sources. As a result, the Los Angeles atmosphere exhibits high peak day and high annual mean sulfate concentrations in spite of the fact that sulfate concentrations in marine background or desert air are low

Law School Leviathan: Explaining Administrative Growth

The administrative apparatus of American law schools - indeed, the entire infrastructure of American law schools - seems to be expanding without end. Soon, one would think, administrators must outnumber all other participants in the educational process. Or so it has been said. Is this a fair characterization of the facts of legal education? If so, what explains this trend? Does it describe a problem or an inevitable, even desirable, state of affairs? We endeavor to answer these questions, looking at the evidence at our disposal and the kinds of speculation that deans can do on short notice

Cost-Benefit Analysis and Relative Position

Current estimates of regulatory benefits are too low and possibly far too low. This is because the standard economic approach to measuring costs and benefits, which attempts to estimate people\u27s willingness to pay for various regulatory benefits, ignores a central point about valuation, thus producing numbers that systematically understate those benefits. Conventional estimates tell us the amount of income an individual, acting in isolation, would be willing to sacrifice in return for, say, an increase in safety on the job. But while these estimates are based on the implicit assumption that economic well-being depends only on absolute income, considerable evidence suggests that relative income is also an important factor. When an individual buys additional safety in isolation, he experiences not only an absolute decline in the amounts of other goods and services he can buy, but also a decline in his relative living standards. In contrast, when a regulation requires all workers to purchase additional safety, each worker gives up the same amount of other goods, so no worker experiences a decline in relative living standards. If relative living standards matter, an individual will value an across the board increase in safety more highly than an increase in safety that he alone purchases. Where the government currently pegs the value of a statistical life at about $4 million, it ought to employ a value between$4.7 million and $7 million. A conservative reading of the evidence is that when government agencies are unsure how to value regulatory benefits along a reasonable range, they should make choices toward or at the upper end

Perennial pastures for marginal farming country in southern Queensland. 1. Grass establishment techniques

Efficient ways to re-establish pastures are needed on land that requires a rotation between pastures and crops. We conducted trials in southern inland Queensland with a range of tropical perennial grasses sown into wheat stubble that was modified in various ways. Differing seedbed preparations involved cultivation or herbicide sprays, with or without fertilizer at sowing. Seed was broadcast and sowing time ranged from spring through to autumn on 3 different soil types. Seed quality and post-sowing rainfall were major determinants of the density of sown grass plants in the first year. Light cultivation sometimes enhanced establishment compared with herbicide spraying of standing stubble, most often on harder-setting soils. A nitrogen + phosphorus mixed fertilizer rarely produced any improvement in sown grass establishment and sometimes increased weed competition. The effects were similar for all types of grass seed from hairy fascicles to large, smooth panicoid seeds and minute Eragrostis seeds. There was a strong inverse relationship between the initial density of sown grass established and the level of weed competition