Jeremy Kidd

Trucker Shortage as Government Failure

The United States is experiencing a shortage of large-truck drivers. Such a shortage might normally be attributed to a failure in the market for driver services. Instead, this article argues that the trucker shortage is an example of government failure, wherein government regulations fail to achieve any gains and, instead, worsen existing problems in the regulated industry.

Modeling the Likely Effects of Litigation Financing

The arguments for and against third-party litigation financing are based on incorrect assumptions regarding the impacts on total litigation. A formal model incorporating the choices of plaintiff, lawyer, and financier shows only minimal impact on total litigation, largely positive. However, after addressing the potential for long-term, strategic behavior by financiers, it is obvious that some dangers remain. Divorced from the dramatic claims of proponents and opponents, litigation financing is merely a tool that can be used for good or bad, and differentiating by types of claims and the incentives of the parties allows that tool to be appropriately used.The arguments for and against third-party litigation financing are based on incorrect assumptions regarding the impacts on total litigation. A formal model incorporating the choices of plaintiff, lawyer, and financier shows only minimal impact on total litigation, largely positive. However, after addressing the potential for long-term, strategic behavior by financiers, it is obvious that some dangers remain. Divorced from the dramatic claims of proponents and opponents, litigation financing is merely a tool that can be used for good or bad, and differentiating by types of claims and the incentives of the parties allows that tool to be appropriately used. 1 Associate Professor of Law, Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law. Many thanks to Ozan Varol, Gary Simson, Chris Walker, George Mocsary, and Brian Frye for their very helpful comments on a previous draft. Of course, all errors are entirely mine. July 2015 Draft–Do not Cite without permission

Meaningful Tort Reform: A Public Choice Analysis

Using public choice tools, this article examines why tort reform is necessary but also elusive. Identifying the demand-side and supply-side forces that have caused tort law to evolve away from efficient rules, the article shows why the courts are an unlikely venue for meaningful tort reform. Turning to the legislature, the article identifies the necessary conditions for successful tort reform efforts.

An Economic Model of Costing Early Offerss Medical Malpractice Reform

Today the key to the unworkability of tort liability as applied to personal injury is the complexity of the insured event. Tort liability insurance calls for payment of economic and noneconomic (i.e., mostly pain and suffering) damages in lawsuits based on fault. The determination of both fault and the value of pain and suffering is especially complex in medical malpractice litigation. Consequently, the liability insurance system is fraught for both sides with uncertainty that causes long delays and huge costs, including huge transaction costs. The result is not an insurance system for promptly paying needy injury victims, but an insurance system for prolonged and hugely expensive fighting about payments to both deserving and undeserving claimants — to the great detriment of both patients and health care providers.