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Imperfect Information, Costly Litigation, and Product Quality

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Author Info
Marilyn J. Simon
Abstract

This article examines the effect of costly litigation and imperfect information on the quality of output. An equilibrium is described in which consumers are uncertain about the result of a lawsuit. The findings show that for a wide range of due care standards there will be both negligent and nonnegligent firms in the market. Furthermore, as the population becomes more risk averse the proportion of output produced by negligent firms increases. If absolute risk aversion decreases as income increases, and there is market segmentation, reliance on litigation to control product quality will have undesirable distributional effects.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by The RAND Corporation in its journal Bell Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 12 (1981)
Issue (Month): 1 (Spring)
Pages: 171-184
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Handle: RePEc:rje:bellje:v:12:y:1981:i:spring:p:171-184

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  1. Andrew F. Daughety & Jennifer F. Reinganum, 1994. "Product Safety: Liability, R&D and Signaling," Game Theory and Information 9403007, EconWPA, revised 30 Mar 1994. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. A. Mitchell Polinsky & Daniel L. Rubinfeld, 1988. "The Welfare Implications of Costly Litigation in the Theory of Liability," NBER Working Papers 1834, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Ram Singh, 2008. "Risk, Informational Asymmetry and Product Liability -- An enquiry into conflicting objectives," Working papers 164, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2008-8-16.


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