IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uct/uconnp/2010-25.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Determinants of State-Level Caps on Punitive Damages: Theory and Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas J. Miceli

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Michael P. Stone

    (Quinnipiac University)

Abstract

Under the standard economic model of torts, punitive damages correct for imperfect detection. Incorporating litigation costs into the model provides a justification for punitive damage caps. At the optimum, caps balance deterrence against the cost of litigation. Empirical testing of the model is performed via Cox proportional and parametric hazard analyses, using a panel dataset from 1981 to 2007. The results reveal a positive relationship between judicial and legal expenditures (a proxy for legal costs) and cap enactment, and a negative relationship between state GSP (a proxy for damages) and cap enactment. Cap enactment is also influenced by political ideology.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas J. Miceli & Michael P. Stone, 2010. "The Determinants of State-Level Caps on Punitive Damages: Theory and Evidence," Working papers 2010-25, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2010-25
    Note: We acknowledge the helpful advice of Stephen Ross and the comments of participants at the Department of Economics Brownbag, University of Connecticut, November 2009.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://media.economics.uconn.edu/working/2010-25.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joni Hersch & W. Kip Viscusi, 2004. "Punitive Damages: How Judges and Juries Perform," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 1-36, January.
    2. Martin F. Grace & J. Tyler Leverty, 2013. "How Tort Reform Affects Insurance Markets," Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(6), pages 1253-1278, December.
    3. Anupam Nanda, 2008. "Property Condition Disclosure Law: Why Did States Mandate ‘Seller Tell All’?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 131-146, August.
    4. Paul H. Rubin & Joanna M. Shepherd, 2007. "Tort Reform and Accidental Deaths," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50, pages 221-238.
    5. Danzon, Patricia, 1984. "The Frequency and Severity of Medical Malpractice Claims," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 115-148, April.
    6. Eisenberg, Theodore & Goerdt, John & Ostrom, Brian & Rottman, David & Wells, Martin T, 1997. "The Predictability of Punitive Damages," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 623-661, June.
    7. Karpoff, Jonathan M & Lott, John R, Jr, 1999. "On the Determinants and Importance of Punitive Damage Awards," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 527-573, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matter, Ulrich & Stutzer, Alois, 2014. "The Role of Lawyer-Legislators in Shaping the Law: Evidence from Voting Behavior on Tort Reforms," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100452, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Matter, Ulrich & Stutzer, Alois, 2015. "Politico-economic determinants of tort reforms in medical malpractice," Working papers 2015/02, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    3. Matter, Ulrich & Stutzer, Alois, 2013. "Do Lawyer-Legislators Protect Their Business? Evidence from Voting Behavior on Tort Reforms," Working papers 2013/09, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    4. Matter, Ulrich & Stutzer, Alois, 2016. "The role of party politics in medical malpractice tort reforms," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 17-35.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eric Helland & Jonathan Klick & Alexander Tabarrok, 2005. "Data Watch: Tort-uring the Data," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 207-220, Spring.
    2. Daniel P. Kessler & Daniel L. Rubinfeld, 2004. "Empirical Study of the Civil Justice System," NBER Working Papers 10825, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Stephen J. Choi & Theodore Eisenberg, 2010. "Punitive Damages in Securities Arbitration: An Empirical Study," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(2), pages 497-546.
    4. Thomas A. Eaton & David B. Mustard & Susette M. Talarico, 2005. "The Effects of Seeking Punitive Damages on the Processing of Tort Claims," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(2), pages 343-369, June.
    5. Lakdawalla, Darius N. & Seabury, Seth A., 2012. "The welfare effects of medical malpractice liability," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 356-369.
    6. Alison F. Del Rossi & W. Kip Viscusi, 2009. "The Changing Landscape of Blockbuster Punitive Damages Awards," American Law and Economics Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 116-161.
    7. Joni Hersch & W. Kip Viscusi, 2004. "Punitive Damages: How Judges and Juries Perform," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 1-36, January.
    8. Michael Heise, 2013. "Empirical Analysis of Civil Litigation: Torts Trials in State Courts," Chapters, in: Jennifer H. Arlen (ed.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Torts, chapter 1, pages 11-30, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Paul Heaton, 2017. "How Does Tort Law Affect Consumer Auto Insurance Costs?," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 84(2), pages 691-715, June.
    10. Steven Shavell, 2005. "Liability for Accidents," NBER Working Papers 11781, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Patricia Born & W. Kip Viscusi & Tom Baker, 2009. "The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 76(1), pages 197-219, March.
    12. James Malm & Marcin Krolikowski, 2017. "Litigation risk and financial leverage," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 41(1), pages 180-194, January.
    13. Robert E. Hoyt & David B. Mustard & Lars S. Powell, 2005. "The Effectiveness of Insurance Fraud Statutues: Evidence from Automobile Insurance," Risk and Insurance 0501001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Arena, Matteo P. & Ferris, Stephen P., 2018. "A global analysis of corporate litigation risk and costs," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 28-41.
    15. Felli, Leonardo & Koenen, Johannes & Stahl, Konrad O., 2011. "Competition and trust: Evidence from German car manufacturers," ZEW Discussion Papers 11-072, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    16. Daniel Carvell & Janet Currie & W. Bentley MacLeod, 2012. "Accidental death and the rule of joint and several liability," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 43(1), pages 51-77, March.
    17. Ronen Avraham & Leemore S. Dafny & Max M. Schanzenbach, 2009. "The Impact of Tort Reform on Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums," NBER Working Papers 15371, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Joni Hersch, 2006. "Demand for a Jury Trial and the Selection of Cases for Trial," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(1), pages 119-142, January.
    19. Bruce Mizrach & Susan Zhang Weerts, 2006. "Does The Stock Market Punish Corporate Malfeasance? A Case Study of Citigroup," Departmental Working Papers 200601, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    20. James W. Hughes & Edward A. Snyder, 1989. "Evaluating Medical Malpractice Reforms," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 7(2), pages 83-98, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Deterrence; litigation costs; punitive damages; statutory caps;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:uct:uconnp:2010-25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Mark McConnel). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deuctus.html .

    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.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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.

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.