Intraportfolio Litigation Essay

The modern trend is for investors to diversify. Shareholders who own one S&P 500 firm tend to own many of the others as well. This trend casts doubt on the traditional compensation and deterrence rationales for legal rules that hold corporations liable for the acts of their agents. Today, when A Corp sues B Corp (for breach of contract, theft of trade secrets, or any other legal wrong), many of the same shareholders own both the plaintiff and the defendant. For these shareholders, damages just shift money from one pocket to another, minus of course lawyer fees. We offer here a new rationale for corporate liability in such cases of “intraportfolio litigation.” Although corporae managers are typically rewarded for maximizing firm profits, what shareholders really care about is overall portfolio value. Firm-on-firm lawsuits can reduce principal-agent conflict by assigning intraportfolio costs to the managers responsible for them. Firm-specific financial data thus become a better tool for diversified shareholders to use in motivating and evaluating managers. Not all intraportfolio litigation can be justified on informational grounds, however. For example, securities fraud class actions against corporations lack informational value because the damages awards overstate the intraportfolio harm. Our theory thus provides lawmakers with a framework for distinguishing between value-creating and value-destroying lawsuits among diversified shareholders

Methods for Evaluating Innovative Health Programs (EIHP): A Multi-Country Study

Designed as a global research initiative, the EIHP project aims at adding to the evidence base of health interventions that have the potential to improve health outcomes in Africa and Asia. The project focuses on rigorous, quantitative evaluations of innovative local initiatives that address the Millennium Development Goals for health: reductions in child and maternal mortality and communicable diseases. This overview brings together the outcomes and lessons from the project for evaluation methods. It draws together the methodological implications of carrying out impact evaluations under very different settings and emphasizes the need to build in evaluations in project designs.Millennium Development Goals; child and maternal health; communicable diseases; impact evaluation; capacity building; Asia; Africa; Latin America

Evaluating Innovative Health Programs: Lessons for Health Policy

The Global Development Network’s (GDN) project “Evaluating Innovative Health Programs” (EIHP), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, seeks to inform policy on the effectiveness of health solutions that have the potential to improve health outcomes in developing countries. It evaluates the impact of nineteen programs from across developing and transition countries that focus on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing child and maternal mortality, and halting and reversing the trend of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The policy implications of the diverse set of interventions are distinguished between programs that involved earmarking resources, changing incentives, and developing innovative methods of health care delivery.Millennium Development Goals; child and maternal health; communicable diseases; impact evaluation; capacity building; Asia; Africa; Latin America

The Population Genetics Of The Wood Frog, Rana Sylvatica, Across Its Geographic Range

This study aimed to determine the level of genetic variation across the continental-wide range of the wood frog, Rana sylvatica. Levels of genetic differentiation between sampled populations were investigated as was the possible locations of glacial refugia for this species. DNA microsatellites were used as the genetic marker. This study found significant genetic differentiation across the geographic range of Rana sylvatica that increased with geographic distance. In addition three likely glacial refugia, Alaska, New York and the southern Appalachians, were identified. A subset of the populations used in the geographic range study was used to investigate the patterns at a regional scale including North Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. While glaciation and recolonization would be expected to play a major role in the patterns seen at the geographic range it was unclear if these forces would play such an important role at a smaller scale. Microsatellite DNA showed that while glaciation and recolonization were likely important in the establishment of populations it appears current geographical barriers, such as the Red River of the North, are keeping populations on either side genetically divergent