The Relational Economics of Commercial Contract

Modern contract law scholarship embraces a particularly strange contradiction. On one hand, most legal scholars accept the core insight of what is called relational contract theory: most commercial contracts involve repeat players who seek to maximize wealth while still maintaining cooperative relationships. On the other hand, many of these same contract scholars believe that there is nothing contract law could or should do about it. They contend that contract law and legal theory are better off ignoring this insight, rather than trying to respond to it. . . . . This Article brings these disparate lines of contract scholarship together by introducing new information that could dramatically change how legal scholars make sense of relational contract theory. It turns out that while legal scholars have largely discounted the importance of relational contract theory, another community of scholars—working in organizational theory, marketing, and strategic management—have studied, tested, and developed its insights. As a result, they have not only empirically confirmed the presence of relational behaviors in modern contracting, but they have begun to discover the sort of data that might make it possible to better account for the economic effects of relational contracting behavior in both legal theory and contract law doctrine. This literature demonstrates that it is possible to operationalize the insights of relational contract theory in an interdisciplinary way that respects both the need for a methodologically rigorous framework and the complex nature of economic behavior. In this Article, I argue that contract law scholars should set out on that same course

The Relational Economics of Commercial Contract

Modern contract law scholarship embraces a particularly strange contradiction. On one hand, most legal scholars accept the core insight of what is called relational contract theory: most commercial contracts involve repeat players who seek to maximize wealth while still maintaining cooperative relationships. On the other hand, many of these same contract scholars believe that there is nothing contract law could or should do about it. They contend that contract law and legal theory are better off ignoring this insight, rather than trying to respond to it. . . . . This Article brings these disparate lines of contract scholarship together by introducing new information that could dramatically change how legal scholars make sense of relational contract theory. It turns out that while legal scholars have largely discounted the importance of relational contract theory, another community of scholars—working in organizational theory, marketing, and strategic management—have studied, tested, and developed its insights. As a result, they have not only empirically confirmed the presence of relational behaviors in modern contracting, but they have begun to discover the sort of data that might make it possible to better account for the economic effects of relational contracting behavior in both legal theory and contract law doctrine. This literature demonstrates that it is possible to operationalize the insights of relational contract theory in an interdisciplinary way that respects both the need for a methodologically rigorous framework and the complex nature of economic behavior. In this Article, I argue that contract law scholars should set out on that same course

Going beyond 'it depends:' the role of context in shaping participation in natural resource management

Public participation is increasingly advocated in natural resource management to meet a spectrum of instrumental to normative goals. However, the success of participation in achieving these goals is highly variable, depending on both societal and institutional contexts. Whether participation realises its benefits or succumbs to its pitfalls is shaped by dynamic interactions operating among three contextual dimensions: participatory rationales (instrumental to normative), institutional fit of different levels (types) of participation (information delivery to partnership to delegation), and social structures (such as cultural context, social capital and power distribution). Some levels of participation may support the existing power hierarchy, others benefit organized stakeholder groups and special interests, and still others foster deliberative democratic outcomes. We argue that wise choice of levels of participation in particular contexts shapes the balance of participation’s benefits and pitfalls

Interactions between changing climate and biodiversity: Shaping humanity's future

Scientists have known for more than a century aboutpotential human impacts on climate (1). In the last 30 y,estimates of these impacts have been confirmed andrefined through increasingly precise climate assess-ments (2). Other global-scale human impacts, includingland use change, overharvesting, air and water pollu-tion, and increased disease risk from antibiotic resis-tance, have risen to critical levels, seriously jeopardizingthe prospects that future generations can thrive (3–5).Earth has entered a stage characterized by humandomination of critical Earth system processes (6–8).Although the basic trajectories of these changes arewell known, many of the likely consequences areshrouded in uncertainty because of poorly understoodinteractions among these drivers of change and there-fore their effects on ecosystems and societies.Fil: Stuart Chapin III, F.. University of Alaska; Estados UnidosFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Geologic analysis of ERTS-1 imagery for the State of New Mexico

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Changes in the surface energy budget after fire in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: An annual perspective

Understanding links between the disturbance regime and regional climate in boreal regions requires observations of the surface energy budget from ecosystems in various stages of secondary succession. While several studies have characterized fire‐induced differences in surface energy fluxes from boreal ecosystems during summer months, much less is known about these differences over the full annual cycle. Here we measured components of the surface energy budget (including both radiative and turbulent fluxes) at three sites from a fire chronosequence in interior Alaska for a 1‐year period. Our sites consisted of large burn scars resulting from fires in 1999, 1987, and ∼1920 (hereinafter referred to as the 3‐, 15‐, and 80‐year sites, respectively). Vegetation cover consisted primarily of bunch grasses at the 3‐year site, aspen and willow at the 15‐year site, and black spruce at the 80‐year site. Annual net radiation declined by 31% (17 W m^(−2)) for both the 3‐ and the 15‐year sites as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 55 W m^(−2)). Annual sensible heat fluxes were reduced by an even greater amount, by 55% at the 3‐year site and by 52% at the 15‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 21 W m^(−2)). Absolute differences between the postfire ecosystems and the mature black spruce forest for both net radiation and sensible heat fluxes were greatest during spring (because of differences in snow cover and surface albedo), substantial during summer and winter, and relatively small during fall. Fire‐induced disturbance also initially reduced annual evapotranspiration (ET). Annual ET decreased by 33% (99 mm yr^(−1)) at the 3‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual flux of 301 mm yr^(−1)). Annual ET at the 15‐year site (283 mm yr^(−1)) was approximately the same as that from the 80‐year site, even though the 15‐year site had substantially higher ET during July. Our study suggests that differences in annual ET between deciduous and conifer stands may be smaller than that inferred solely from summer observations. This study provides a direct means to validate land surface processes in global climate models attempting to capture vegetation‐climate feedbacks in northern terrestrial regions

Changing Forests in a Warming World

Severe fires can dramatically alter the future growth of a spruce forest. A severe fire is likely to change the forest to one dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees, especially in drier places.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c