http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/9525/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/30918/ 2011-10-01T00:00:00Z The paper presents a comparative analysis of the development and present state of compensation for victims of catastrophes in Belgium and the Netherlands. These two neighbouring countries have both seen legislative changes in this field in recent years, albeit with different outcomes. The paper thus analyses to what extent the two compensation scheme structures allow for conclusions as to the comparative benefits of a comprehensive insurance scheme for natural disasters. From the perspective of law and economics, the evolution of private insurance and public intervention through compensation funds, the preference for private or public solutions and the actual financing of these are examined. Drawing on practical experience, such as the case of flood risks, the solutions are tested in view of incentive-based financing. The paper concludes that the private insurance market is more developed in Belgium than it is in the Netherlands, where the reform process has not yet ended. © 2011 The Author(s). Disasters http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/31024/ 2011-09-01T00:00:00Z The domain of behavioural law and economics is winning increasing attention also in the field of consumer policy. How the insights of behavioural law and economics can be used in policy remains, to a large extent, unclear. In this article, the following question is asked: "To what extent can the insights from the behavioural literature be applied in a way to formulate concrete suggestions to policy makers?" The authors show that many of the findings of the behavioural literature are very context-specific and hence apply only with respect to particular products or services and particular consumer groups. Formulating general policy conclusions is therefore difficult. However, as far as the specific domain of standard form contracts is concerned, the authors argue that the behavioural literature has shown that the traditional remedy (mostly resulting from information economics), being to focus on information disclosure will not be able to remedy market failures resulting from failing information and the "signing-without-reading-problem." Hence, more substantive forms of intervention in standard form contracts (e.g., resulting from collective bargaining) may be indicated as a remedy. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/25531/ 2011-04-06T00:00:00Z The paper presents a comparative analysis of the development and present state of compensation for victims of catastrophes in Belgium and the Netherlands. These two neighbouring countries have both seen legislative changes in this field in recent years, albeit with different outcomes. The paper thus analyses to what extent the two compensation scheme structures allow for conclusions as to the comparative benefits of a comprehensive insurance scheme for natural disasters. From the perspective of law and economics, the evolution of private insurance and public intervention through compensation funds, the preference for private or public solutions and the actual financing of these are examined. Drawing on practical experience, such as the case of flood risks, the solutions are tested in view of incentive-based financing. The paper concludes that the private insurance market is more developed in Belgium than it is in the Netherlands, where the reform process has not yet ended. © 2011 The Author(s). Disasters http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16721/ 2009-09-14T00:00:00Z Aanleiding, onderwerp en vraagstelling Als beleidsmakers op rijksoverheidsniveau moeten kiezen tussen instrumenten om beleidsdoelen te realiseren, is het van belang dat zij inzicht hebben in de voor- en nadelen van de verschillende instru-menten. Dat is dus ook het geval als het gaat om “maatschappelijke reguleringsinstrumenten”, dat wil zeggen de verschillende niet-wettelijke vormen van regulering afkomstig van maatschappelijke acto-ren zonder wetgevende bevoegdheden. Wanneer kan zo‟n maatschappelijke reguleringsvorm dienst doen als instrument om overheidsbeleid mee uit te voeren? Om die vraag te beantwoorden, moet men weten welke eisen men gewoonlijk aan wetten stelt en onder welke voorwaarden de maatschappij of delen daarvan zichzelf kunnen reguleren. Deze studie heeft als doel om nader inzicht te verschaffen in de manier waarop niet-wettelijke regule-ringsinstrumenten feitelijk werken: hoe ze tot stand komen, wat de inhoud is, hoe ze functioneren en hoe ze worden gehandhaafd, en of ze een functioneel alternatief voor wetgeving kunnen vormen. Om preciezer te zijn en om bruikbare uitspraken te kunnen doen, beperkt deze pilotstudy zich tot één spe-cifieke vorm van maatschappelijke reguleringsinstrumenten, namelijk zelfregulering door middel van gedragscodes in het veld van ‘reclame en handelspraktijken’. Daarmee is de opzet van deze studie bescheiden; doel is vooral de verkenning van het probleemgebied van de regulering van reclame, mar-keting en de handelspraktijken rondom de afzet van goederen en diensten. Dat gebied is om ten minste twee redenen interessant. In de eerste plaats omdat hierin sprake is van een breed gedragen verschij-ningsvorm van zelfregulering met tal van gedragscodes. In de tweede plaats omdat het gebied sterk in beweging is, zowel wat betreft de normering als de handhaving. Op sommige plekken laat de overheid toenemend ruimte voor zelfregulering, maar op andere plekken wordt zelfregulering afgedankt en trekt de overheid de teugels strakker aan. Wij onderzochten drie concrete gebieden waarin dit speelt: ge-dragscodes op het gebied van alcohol, telemarketing, en consumentenkrediet. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16233/ 2009-04-03T00:00:00Z This article deals with the question of how a high level of compliance with consumer protection legislation designed to prevent financial losses can be secured. We use a theoretical framework based on economic analysis of law to address some of the key policy options, such as proactive and reactive monitoring, providing officials with postdetection enforcement discretion, administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions, and facilitating actions by victims and third parties. On the basis of our theoretical framework and a classification of jurisdictions into different groups (models of enforcement policy), we identify some key elements of an enforcement regime and indicate in what circumstances a particular solution can be expected to be more or less cost effective. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20562/ 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Written in honour of Guido Calabresi, this essay discusses critically several of the basic assumptions of the neo-classic model of tort law: one being that rational individuals will respond to applicable tort rules, striving to maximise their utility and to satisfy their own self-interest. Insights from behavioural law and economics are used to show that decision-making often takes place in a way that is different from that assumed by traditional economic models. The paper discusses the consequences of the behavioural literature for the economic analysis of law. It also demonstrates that Calabresi's approach to tort law is more differentiated and flexible than some of the more formal models. This approach has the advantage that it allows one to take into account all kinds of cognitive limitations, errors, and information problems, as did Calabresi himself in many of his publications on this issue in the 1960s and 1970s. The paper illustrates how Guido Calabresi was already aware of cognitive limits: for instance, concerning the ability of parties to assess how much they should spend ‘for their own good’. This led him to arrive at balanced conclusions with regard to normative consequences of these limits. Many of the ideas of behavioural law and economics were hence already implicit in Calabresi's writings. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/13453/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z The text contains concluding remarks to the book Shifts in Compensation between Private and Public Systems, Tort and Insurance Law. Why have some legal systems abandoned tort law in some areas and replaced it with some form of no-fault compensation scheme or strict liability? What have been the effects? How should we evaluate these 'shifts'? Why have they not been adopted in other countries? These questions have been the focus of the Shifts in Compensation research project and this is the final volume in this series, addressing, on the one hand, the issues relating to 'shifts' in compensation systems at a more general level, and on the other hand, addressing shifts in particular domains. The papers examining the shifts at a more general level provide a framework for the analysis of the various shifts and explain the shifts towards an increasing use of strict liability and no-fault regimes. To what extent shifts in compensation can be explained by insurance markets and their relative flexibility is also dealt with. In addition, shifts in the specific areas of medical mishaps and disasters are also examined. This book brings together lawyers and economists from various jurisdictions thus providing a multidisciplinary approach to tort law and alternative instruments. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6157/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6169/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z