IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/mhr/jinste/urndoi10.1628-jite-2020-0009.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multiple Causes and Stacked Inferences

Author

Listed:
  • J. Shahar Dillbary

Abstract

When an accident is a mystery - when it is not clear what happened - courts often rely on stacked inferences. Such inferences are subject to much debate and are even prohibited by some jurisdictions. This article reveals that the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur ("the thing speaks for itself") is a form of stacked inferences and that despite its affiliation, it has been widely accepted. The article further shows that application of res ipsa loquitur in cases involving multiple actors can adversely affect precaution and activity levels. It concludes with a call for a careful application of res ipsa loquitur in cases involving multiple actors.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Shahar Dillbary, 2020. "Multiple Causes and Stacked Inferences," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 176(1), pages 54-72.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:doi:10.1628/jite-2020-0009
    DOI: 10.1628/jite-2020-0009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/article/multiple-causes-and-stacked-inferences-101628jite-2020-0009
    Download Restriction: Fulltext access is included for subscribers to the printed version.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1628/jite-2020-0009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    multiple actors; stacked inferences; actual causation; false positives; deterrence; collusion; indemnity; game theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • K13 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Tort Law and Product Liability; Forensic Economics
    • K41 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Litigation Process

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:doi:10.1628/jite-2020-0009. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Thomas Wolpert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/jite .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.