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on Law and Economics |
| By: | Omry Yoresh; Weijian Zou |
| Abstract: | How does judicial bias arise and persist in the legal system? We trace the lifecycle of judicial bias in India's criminal courts, leveraging the quasi-random assignment of judges to courts and cases. We first document substantial variation in bias: within the same court, assigning a same-religion defendant from a judge at the 25th to 75th percentile of bias increases acquittal probability by 7.5 percentage points, 45% of the mean acquittal rate. We then examine how different triggers across judges' professional careers affect their bias. Exposure to Hindu-Muslim communal riots during a judge's first five years of service leads them to increase same-religion acquittal rates by 17.5%. Yet, judges who work alongside colleagues from different-religions during this critical period show no such effect. Next, social interactions between judges reinforce judicial bias. On-the-job exposure to biased colleagues leads judges to reduce acquittal rates for defendants of different-religions by 3.2 percentage points, with effects that persist for over a year. These findings suggest that judicial bias is neither innate nor inevitable, but rather shaped by experiences and relationships, and that thoughtful institutional design can prevent and mitigate discriminatory practices across various professions. |
| Keywords: | judicial Bias, discrimination, peer effects, contact theory |
| Date: | 2026–03–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2159 |
| By: | David H. Howard; Jetson Leder-Luis |
| Abstract: | The use of federal anti-fraud laws to address unnecessary medical care is controversial. Targeted providers frequently argue that, in their judgment, the treatment in question was appropriate. We examine the effects of anti-fraud litigation against hospitals for over-admitting patients from the emergency department, using 100% Medicare claims for 2005-2019 and a design based on the staggered rollout of these lawsuits. We find that anti-fraud lawsuits reduced admission rates by 3.6 percentage points without increasing mortality rates. We estimate five-year savings to Medicare of $1.3 billion. Our results suggest that anti-fraud enforcement can be successful in reducing costly, unnecessary care. |
| JEL: | D73 I18 K42 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34938 |
| By: | Thibault Schrepel (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands); Godefroy de Boiscuillé (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France) |
| Abstract: | This article questions the legal validity of the Digital Markets Act ("DMA") in light of its enforcement practice. Adopted on the basis of Article 114 TFEU as an internal market harmonization measure, the DMA is administered by the Commission as a standing regime of unilateral conduct control that operates alongside, and in close normative proximity to, Article 102 TFEU. The resulting functional equivalence between the two instruments raises structural doubts as to the DMA's compatibility with the constitutional framework of the Treaties. |
| Keywords: | Digital Markets Act; Article 102 TFEU; European Union law; Competition law; Digital platforms; Gatekeepers |
| JEL: | K21 K23 L40 L86 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2026-07 |
| By: | Leander Andres; Stefan Bauernschuster; Gordon B. Dahl; Helmut Rainer; Simone Schüller |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of birthright citizenship on youth crime. We leverage a reform which automatically granted birthright citizenship to eligible immigrant children born in Germany after January 1, 2000 and administrative crime data from three federal states. Immigrant youth who acquired citizenship at birth are substantially less likely to engage in criminal activity, with estimates indicating a 70% reduction. These results are particularly relevant in light of ongoing debates in the U.S. about abolishing birthright citizenship. Our findings suggest that inclusive citizenship policies can reduce crime and its associated costs, which in turn could strengthen social cohesion. |
| Keywords: | birthright citizenship, crime, immigration, integration |
| JEL: | D04 J15 K37 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fbk:wpaper:2026-02 |
| By: | Pablo (School of Government and Public Transformation, Tecnológico de Monterrey); Ángeles (School of Government and Public Transformation, Tecnológico de Monterrey) |
| Abstract: | El estudio analiza cómo diversas dimensiones de vulnerabilidad social inciden en la criminalidad en México (2016-2024) mediante un panel estatal con modelos de efectos fijos. Muestra que desigualdad y pobreza no explican linealmente los homicidios, mientras robos y narcomenudeo se asocian con violencia letal. Los delitos patrimoniales se vinculan con rezago educativo y privación social, en un contexto territorial e institucional complejo. |
| Keywords: | México, Security, Crime incidence, Social vulnerability, Inequality, Homicides rate, Robbery rate. |
| JEL: | H83 K42 C38 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gnt:wpaper:26 |
| By: | Clara Schäper |
| Abstract: | Does increased legal infrastructure empower victims to leave abusive relationships? Structural barriers often prevent victims of intimate partner violence from seeking help, with two-thirds of female victims in Europe neither reporting incidents nor accessing support. I study Germany’s 2002 Act on Protection against Violence, which introduced residence bans in shared households and temporarily awarded victims sole use of the dwelling, summarized as “the aggressor goes, the victim stays”. Using divorce records (1998–2005), linked on the county-level to a hand-collected database of women’s shelter and counselling center openings (1970–2023), I estimate how divorce numbers changed in the period after the reform relative to the period before. I show that divorces rise markedly in the three years following the reform and decrease in the fourth. Trends are driven by female-initiated filings and are concentrated in West Germany, with increases appearing more persistent among non-German filers over time. To assess whether effects vary with support availability, I classify counties by pre-reform infrastructure of women’s shelters and counselling centers. Changes are muted where services already existed and strongest in areas lacking support infrastructure at the time of the legal change. These patterns are consistent with a two-stage model in which pre-existing support had already led abusive marriages to dissolve and/or deterred their formation, leaving a smaller stock of detectable abusive unions. |
| Keywords: | Domestic violence, gender, violence against women and girls (VAW) |
| JEL: | J12 J16 J18 K36 K42 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2159 |
| By: | Marcello Di Bello; Nicol\`o Cangiotti; Michele Loi |
| Abstract: | The use of profiling evidence in criminal trials is a longstanding controversy in legal epistemology and evidence law theory. Many scholars, even when they oppose its use at trial, still assume that profiling evidence can be probative of guilt. We reject that assumption. Profiling evidence may support a generic hypothesis, but is not evidence that the defendant is guilty of the specific crime of which they are accused. We contrast profiling evidence with case-specific evidence, which speaks more directly to the facts of the case. Our critique departs from others by grounding the argument in a probabilistic analysis of evidentiary value. We also explore the implications of our account for debates about stereotyping. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.00098 |
| By: | Barbara Antonioli; Federico Trombetta |
| Abstract: | Executives may implement legally contestable policies aggressively before courts reach a final legality determination, creating reliance and other sunk effects that make reversal costly. We study a complete-information sequential game in which an executive chooses policy aggressiveness and a court then decides whether to uphold the policy or strike it. If reversal costs increase sufficiently convexly in aggressiveness, the court strikes mild policies but upholds sufficiently aggressive ones to avoid disruption. Anticipating this, the executive overreaches—choosing a policy more extreme than its ideal point—to deter full reversal, yielding inefficient excess implementation relative to a commitment benchmark. Institutions that limit pre-review sunk effects (stays, phased implementation, expedited review) mitigate this distortion. |
| JEL: | D72 D74 K23 K40 P16 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dis:wpaper:dis2602 |
| By: | Renardi Ardiya Bimantoro (Bank Indonesia); Rudy Hardiyanto (Bank Indonesia); Irfan Sampe (Bank Indonesia); Agung Bayu Purwoko (Bank Indonesia); Imam Dwi Kuncoro (Bank Indonesia); Irvan Fadjar R. (Bank Indonesia); Devima Christi M. (Bank Indonesia); Anugerah Mohamad Setiawan (Bank Indonesia); Moh. Mashudi Arif (Bank Indonesia); Mahanani Margani (Bank Indonesia); Dwi Kartika Siregar (Bank Indonesia); Ganang Suryo Anggoro (Bank Indonesia); Melati Pramudyastuti (Bank Indonesia); Farah Hilda Fuad Lubis (Bank Indonesia); Rudy Marhastari (Bank Indonesia); Nurkholisoh Ibnu Aman (Bank Indonesia); Sintia Aurida (Bank Indonesia) |
| Abstract: | The transformation of Indonesia’s payment system, driven by BSPI initiatives such as SNAP, QRIS, and BI-FAST, has made digital payments faster, more affordable, and more accessible. However, these advancements can also be misused for illegal activities, specifically online gambling. With transactions projected to grow rapidly from Rp327 trillion in 2023 to Rp900 trillion in 2024, this issue has become a major national financial concern. Beyond eroding public trust, this poses serious social and legal risks. Standard monitoring simply cannot keep up with these shifting threats. To address this, this study proposes an AI-driven Fraud Detection System (FDS). By using a hybrid machine learning approach, combining clustering, classification, and GraphML, we can map out criminal networks and how accounts interconnect. The results indicate that the system identified over 90% of syndicate accounts linked to gamblers. It also cut the time required to flag 1, 000 fraudulent accounts from a week of manual work down to just 30 minutes, while catching three times the volume of fraud. These insights offer a strong basis for creating adaptive, risk-based policies that reinforce the integrity and resilience of Indonesia's payment ecosystem. |
| Keywords: | AI/Machine Learning, Judi Daring, Sistem Pembayaran, Bank Indonesia, Pengawasan Keuangan, Deteksi Penipuan |
| JEL: | C55 G18 K42 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idn:wpaper:wp142025 |
| By: | Rocco d’Este (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Noam Yuchtman (London School of Economics) |
| Date: | 2026–03–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:26/20 |
| By: | Ho, Ka Ki Lawrence; , KuoRayMao; Chan, Henry Hin-Yan; Hagan, Alex |
| Abstract: | This article applies institutional and media content analysis to investigate the legitimation and criminalisation of cross-border trade within the “Southern Chinese Seaboard, ” specifically between Taiwan and China and between Hong Kong and mainland China, a region characterised by diverse taxation and legal jurisdictions, as well as rapidly evolving political-economic and regional geo-political dynamics. This study re-evaluates common media portrayals and simplistic perceptions of “illicit” and “parallel trading” as merely spontaneous actions by individuals embedded in criminal networks. Instead, we posit that such activities stem from deliberately vague taxation and legal definitions, as well as enforcement strategies resulting from collusion between state and non-state actors. Utilising the “Regime of Permission” framework, this study examines how political actors manipulate the definitions of licit and illicit trading to achieve political objectives, thereby creating loopholes that non-state actors exploit. The findings demonstrate that the delineation and oversight of illicit trade have evolved in response to shifting economic relationships and the development of enforcement institutions within a changing geo-political landscape, offering deeper insight into the state’s role in creating and maintaining liminal spaces that regulate the boundaries between lawful, unlawful, and socially illicit trade. |
| Date: | 2026–03–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:c3d2b_v1 |
| By: | Mutsamwira, Sam |
| Abstract: | This article examines the ideas/expression dichotomy as applied to artistic works in New Zealand copyright law. Under New Zealand copyright law, the principle that expression is protected while ideas are not is fundamental. However, applying this dichotomy to artistic works remains difficult in practice. Given the traditional “sweat of the brow” test for originality, this article examines how courts have attempted to distinguish between unprotectable ideas and protectable expression, particularly in cases involving collocations, functional constraints, and low originality works. The discussion considers the role of skill and labour in assessing originality, the arrangement of unoriginal features in collocations, the influence of external factors, materiality, and the treatment of words and figures in design drawings. By reviewing key New Zealand authorities, the article concludes that demarcating the boundary between idea and expression remains challenging. Keywords: Copyright law, ideas/expression dichotomy, originality, New Zealand copyright, artistic works, substantiality, infringement, design, industrial design |
| Date: | 2026–03–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:lawarc:dwym7_v1 |
| By: | Takuma Iwasaki; Eric A. Baldwin; John J. Donohue; Tai Markman |
| Abstract: | Organized interests are thought to influence policy, but whether and when interest group money overrides public opinion remains poorly understood. We investigate how gun interest group money and public opinion shape state gun laws. To test which force drives policy, we link 25 years of campaign finance records to a novel Gun Law Index paired with original estimates of constituent sentiment, 2000--2024. We show that pro-gun contributions produce deregulatory changes under Republican trifectas, while gun safety contributions generate regulatory tightening under Democratic trifectas. Using an instrumental variable design, we find that constituent sentiment does not causally predict policy change under Republican or Democratic trifectas. We document one of the most striking failures of democratic responsiveness in the history of the American Republic: while the twelve states in which universal background checks command at least 90% support have adopted them, only 8 other states have done so among the 36 states that have support between 80-90%, while assault weapons bans and concealed carry restrictions also enjoy durable majority support across 36 states, yet there has been far greater deregulation than regulation for both measures. These patterns provide unequivocal evidence that organized interests, rather than constituent preferences, drive gun policy in the United States. |
| JEL: | C21 C23 C36 D72 D78 H70 I18 K14 K16 P10 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34970 |
| By: | Ilona Dielen (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France; Université Paris-Est Créteil, ERUDITE, France); Patrice Bougette (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France); Christophe Charlier (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how the cartel of European truck manufacturers coordinated the timing of compliance with emission standards, generating additional air pollution without violating environmental regulations. Although firms formally complied with environmental law, collusion restricted competition over cleaner technologies, highlighting that anticompetitive agreements can have significant environmental and health consequences. First, we quantify the volume of particulate emissions attributable to cartel behavior by constructing two plausible counterfactual scenarios for truck fleet composition, identifying substantial excess emissions of approximately 119 thousand tonnes of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Second, we estimate the health impact of traffic-related PM2.5 emissions on infant respiratory outcomes using a panel of 199 European subregions observed over an 18-year period. To address endogeneity concerns, we exploit exogenous variation in EURO emission standards through a shift-share instrumental-variable strategy. The resulting elasticity allows us to compute the number of infant respiratory hospital admissions attributable to the cartel under counterfactual competitive conditions. We estimate that earlier, competition-driven adoption of cleaner technologies could have reduced average yearly infant hospital admissions by 12–18 cases per 1, 000 births at the NUTS 2 level. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution; Truck cartel; Anticompetitive agreement; Environmental damage; EURO standards; European Commission |
| JEL: | I18 K21 L41 Q51 Q52 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2026-06 |