Environmental Regulation, Market Power and Price Discrimination in the Agricultural Chemical Industry

Chemical companies generally support environmental regulatory segregation Canadian and U.S. agricultural chemical markets, apparently because it enables them to practice third order price discrimination. This study provides new cross section evidence that suggests price discrimination is practiced. We examine the potential implications chemical market desegregation for agricultural chemical prices, farmer welfare, and consumer welfare.price discrimination, agricultural chemicals, economic welfare, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Legal Malpractice in a Changing Profession: The Role of Contract Principles

In little more than four decades, the field of American legal ethics has grown from unimportant into a set of of legal principles that drives the practice of law in countless respects. However, the fabric of legal ethics is threatened by a looming transformation of the legal profession. That potential restructuring may revolutionize the delivery of legal services by replacing what is essentially a unified American legal profession that has monopoly powers and corresponding responsibilities with a diverse range of legal services providers, some of whom may not be lawyers at all, others of whom may not be fully licensed, and none of whom will enjoy an exclusive franchise. Such changes, if they come to pass, will undercut the foundations upon which the law of modern legal ethics is founded. It will then be necessary to reconstitute an effective legal ethics regime for a world of disaggregated legal services

Book Review: Chinese Law on SARS by Chenglin Liu

The pace of change in contemporary China is staggering. Changes to the Chinese legal system are more difficult for foreigners to appreciate than alterations of the physical environment, in part because they are less visible, and are less frequently reported by the foreign press. Against this backdrop of unrelenting change and slow scholarly publication comes Chenglin Liu’s Chinese Law on SARS. The book analyzes the Chinese response to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. Most notably, it examines the government’s passing of two new laws and the implementation of other legal steps to bolster the nation’s public health system

The Ethical Foundations of American Judicial Independence

When one thinks of the independence of the American judiciary, the mind focuses first on federal courts. There have been many pivotal cases in which independent judges stood against the tides of public opinion or the power of the legislative and executive branches. State judges may be less independent than their federal counterparts. Elections are frequently decided not by qualifications (about which the voting public often knows little) but by advertising. Campaign contributions that buy advertising undermine judicial independence by clouding the exercise of judicial judgment with considerations related to financial obligation. Also, state judges typically must win re-appointment or reelection on a relatively frequent basis, sometimes every four or six years. With the shadow of the next campaign looming, it can be hard to focus on doing what is right under the law and the facts, rather than doing what is popular. One factor easily overlooked, but quite significant, is the judicial ethical norms that have developed in the United States. These norms shape the conduct of American judges on a daily basis and give concrete meaning to the idea that judges should be free from undue or inappropriate pressures when performing the duties of office

The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens of 1789, the Reign of Terror, and the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris

Recently, Americans have been engaged in an effort to properly commemorate the bicentennial of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. If one is serious about that endeavor, it may be profitable to focus on the other bicentennial being celebrated this year in France. The early days of the French and American republics were intertwined, and it would be erroneous to think that the developments which then took place in the two countries can now fully be understood in isolation. A number of legal aspects of the French Revolution are especially relevant to the American experience, therefore worth consideration. Among these are the terms of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens, the American contributions toward its enactment, the failure of the French to enforce the Declaration’s guarantees through an independent judiciary, and the abuses of legal procedure and governmental power which occurred during the Reign of Terror. In reflecting on the Declaration of Rights’ origin and content on the occasion of the French bicentennial, Americans can pay tribute to the struggles of the great nation and honor a small part of their own history as well

Ethics in Government at the Local Level

Efforts to foster ethics in government should begin at the local, rather than the state or national, level. City officials and employees make a broad range of decisions that affect the welfare of citizens in many ways. Officials who begin their careers in local government often progress to other positions in state or national settings. If proper values and ethical practices have been ingrained in those officials when they first serve in local government, there is reason to hope that the same high standards and practices may follow them when their careers move to a broader stage. This Article offers a distinctly American perspective on legal regulation of ethics in government at the local level. The first assumption is that all persons should be treated equally by the government. The current prevailing view that no one should enjoy an advantage based on special connections to those in office is a result of powerful streams of social development. The second key assumption animating American debates about ethics in government is that law is a proper tool for ensuring good conduct