Ken Binmore
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195178111
- eISBN:
- 9780199783670
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195178111.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This book attempts to create an evolutionary theory of fairness. Sharing food is commonplace in the animal kingdom because it insures animals that share against hunger. Anthropologists report that ...
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This book attempts to create an evolutionary theory of fairness. Sharing food is commonplace in the animal kingdom because it insures animals that share against hunger. Anthropologists report that hunter-gatherer societies which survived into the 20th century shared on a very egalitarian basis. What can such information tell us about the sense of fairness with which modern man is born? Using game theory as a basic tool, the book argues that fairness norms should be seen as a device for selecting an efficient equilibrium in the human game of life. Evolutionary arguments are then used to argue that the deep structure of this device resembles the original position formulated by John Rawls in his Theory of Justice. Such an evolutionary framework allows problems over welfare comparison and norm enforcement to be tackled in a manner that resolves the long debate between utilitarianism and egalitarianism.Less
This book attempts to create an evolutionary theory of fairness. Sharing food is commonplace in the animal kingdom because it insures animals that share against hunger. Anthropologists report that hunter-gatherer societies which survived into the 20th century shared on a very egalitarian basis. What can such information tell us about the sense of fairness with which modern man is born? Using game theory as a basic tool, the book argues that fairness norms should be seen as a device for selecting an efficient equilibrium in the human game of life. Evolutionary arguments are then used to argue that the deep structure of this device resembles the original position formulated by John Rawls in his Theory of Justice. Such an evolutionary framework allows problems over welfare comparison and norm enforcement to be tackled in a manner that resolves the long debate between utilitarianism and egalitarianism.
Antony Black
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199281695
- eISBN:
- 9780191713101
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281695.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
All our political values were invented in ancient times. Social contract, for example, was invented, though not developed philosophically. Western/European thought drew the idea of nation from the ...
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All our political values were invented in ancient times. Social contract, for example, was invented, though not developed philosophically. Western/European thought drew the idea of nation from the Old Testament, of monarchy and the state from Rome as well, and of liberty from Greece and Rome. Democracy was long forgotten and only revived in different form. Both Confucianism and, implicitly, the political realism of ‘Legalism’ have remained imporant in China.Less
All our political values were invented in ancient times. Social contract, for example, was invented, though not developed philosophically. Western/European thought drew the idea of nation from the Old Testament, of monarchy and the state from Rome as well, and of liberty from Greece and Rome. Democracy was long forgotten and only revived in different form. Both Confucianism and, implicitly, the political realism of ‘Legalism’ have remained imporant in China.
Steven J. Burton
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195337495
- eISBN:
- 9780199868650
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195337495.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Law of Obligations
This book examines the American law of contract interpretation in detail. Intended primarily for lawyers, judges, legal scholars, and law students, the book focuses attention on the elements of ...
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This book examines the American law of contract interpretation in detail. Intended primarily for lawyers, judges, legal scholars, and law students, the book focuses attention on the elements of contract interpretation — the evidentiary facts that are legally relevant when interpreting a contract. The book describes and analyzes how courts do and should perform three practical tasks in contract interpretation. First, courts identify the terms to be interpreted (under the parol evidence rule); second, courts decide whether a contract is relevantly ambiguous; third, fact-finders (judges or juries) resolve any ambiguities that appear. The book examines these issues through the lens of three theories that are supposed to tell us how to perform the three tasks to further the goals of contract interpretation. These theories are literalism, objectivism, and subjectivism. In the last chapter, the author makes a novel proposal, which he calls “objective contextual interpretation”.Less
This book examines the American law of contract interpretation in detail. Intended primarily for lawyers, judges, legal scholars, and law students, the book focuses attention on the elements of contract interpretation — the evidentiary facts that are legally relevant when interpreting a contract. The book describes and analyzes how courts do and should perform three practical tasks in contract interpretation. First, courts identify the terms to be interpreted (under the parol evidence rule); second, courts decide whether a contract is relevantly ambiguous; third, fact-finders (judges or juries) resolve any ambiguities that appear. The book examines these issues through the lens of three theories that are supposed to tell us how to perform the three tasks to further the goals of contract interpretation. These theories are literalism, objectivism, and subjectivism. In the last chapter, the author makes a novel proposal, which he calls “objective contextual interpretation”.
Roger W. Shuy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328837
- eISBN:
- 9780199870165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328837.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
A business contract between a marketing services company and a company that sells infomercial products contained an exclusivity rights clause, providing that the sales company “will not contract with ...
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A business contract between a marketing services company and a company that sells infomercial products contained an exclusivity rights clause, providing that the sales company “will not contract with any other contractors or service providers for the procurement of comparable services during the term of this agreement.” The dispute was over the meaning of the verb “to contract” and whether it meant that a contract could be made before the last day of the existing contract even though the new work would not start until that contract had ended. Semantic analysis of the verb “contract” along with what the exclusivity agreement did not say, framed the linguistic contribution to this case.Less
A business contract between a marketing services company and a company that sells infomercial products contained an exclusivity rights clause, providing that the sales company “will not contract with any other contractors or service providers for the procurement of comparable services during the term of this agreement.” The dispute was over the meaning of the verb “to contract” and whether it meant that a contract could be made before the last day of the existing contract even though the new work would not start until that contract had ended. Semantic analysis of the verb “contract” along with what the exclusivity agreement did not say, framed the linguistic contribution to this case.
Carl-Ulrik Schierup
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198280521
- eISBN:
- 9780191603730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280521.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter discusses the emergence of downgraded and informal sectors of European labour markets staffed by socially marginal migrants and ethnic minorities. These parts of the economy and the ...
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This chapter discusses the emergence of downgraded and informal sectors of European labour markets staffed by socially marginal migrants and ethnic minorities. These parts of the economy and the labour market seem to represent a ‘pre-modern’ regression in terms of organization and management. Yet the processes through which this occurs are part and parcel of advanced capitalist strategies of deregulation for the enhancement of ‘flexibility’ in terms of a networked economy and society and a fragmented labour market. This point is illustrated by case studies of industrial restructuring from Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. These examples exhibit advanced corporate strategies heading the ongoing restructuring of the political economy and European societies, and reflect processes typical for different economic sectors. The cases also demonstrate the impact of the different national institutional contexts and welfare regimes in which these strategies of restructuring are embedded.Less
This chapter discusses the emergence of downgraded and informal sectors of European labour markets staffed by socially marginal migrants and ethnic minorities. These parts of the economy and the labour market seem to represent a ‘pre-modern’ regression in terms of organization and management. Yet the processes through which this occurs are part and parcel of advanced capitalist strategies of deregulation for the enhancement of ‘flexibility’ in terms of a networked economy and society and a fragmented labour market. This point is illustrated by case studies of industrial restructuring from Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. These examples exhibit advanced corporate strategies heading the ongoing restructuring of the political economy and European societies, and reflect processes typical for different economic sectors. The cases also demonstrate the impact of the different national institutional contexts and welfare regimes in which these strategies of restructuring are embedded.
Joshua Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199581498
- eISBN:
- 9780191722875
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199581498.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The fundamental problem of Rousseau's political philosophy is to find a form of association that protects the person and goods of each person without demanding from them a morally unacceptable ...
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The fundamental problem of Rousseau's political philosophy is to find a form of association that protects the person and goods of each person without demanding from them a morally unacceptable sacrifice of autonomy. His solution to this problem, specified by a social contract, is the society of the general will: a free community of equals, whose members share a commitment to the common good, and in which each gives the law to him or herself. But how could it be that we accept a common authority and yet remain fully autonomous; and is such a society genuinely possible for human beings? Rousseau answers the first question by filling out the ideal of a free community of equals, regulated by the general will. He answers the second by showing that human beings can, appearances notwithstanding, live together in a free community of equals, motivated by the general will, and by describing how a free community of equals might work institutionally, as a form of democracy. At the heart of the argument is the idea that human beings are naturally good but corrupted by bad institutions. With institutions that advance the common good and secure each citizen's self-worth, people may acquire the requisite motivations. To this end, Rousseau favors direct-democratic lawmaking, and emphasizes the importance of strong communal solidarities. But the ideal of a free community of equals may be more robust — and more robustly attractive — than his proposals about direct democracy and communitarian ideas of solidarity might suggest.Less
The fundamental problem of Rousseau's political philosophy is to find a form of association that protects the person and goods of each person without demanding from them a morally unacceptable sacrifice of autonomy. His solution to this problem, specified by a social contract, is the society of the general will: a free community of equals, whose members share a commitment to the common good, and in which each gives the law to him or herself. But how could it be that we accept a common authority and yet remain fully autonomous; and is such a society genuinely possible for human beings? Rousseau answers the first question by filling out the ideal of a free community of equals, regulated by the general will. He answers the second by showing that human beings can, appearances notwithstanding, live together in a free community of equals, motivated by the general will, and by describing how a free community of equals might work institutionally, as a form of democracy. At the heart of the argument is the idea that human beings are naturally good but corrupted by bad institutions. With institutions that advance the common good and secure each citizen's self-worth, people may acquire the requisite motivations. To this end, Rousseau favors direct-democratic lawmaking, and emphasizes the importance of strong communal solidarities. But the ideal of a free community of equals may be more robust — and more robustly attractive — than his proposals about direct democracy and communitarian ideas of solidarity might suggest.
Hazel Carty
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199546749
- eISBN:
- 9780191594946
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546749.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law
The economic torts for too long have been under-theorised and under-explored by academics and the judiciary alike. Also in recent years claimants have exploited the resulting chaos by attempting to ...
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The economic torts for too long have been under-theorised and under-explored by academics and the judiciary alike. Also in recent years claimants have exploited the resulting chaos by attempting to use the economic torts in ever more exotic ways. This book attempts to provide practical legal research to both explore the ingredients of all these torts — both the general economic torts (inducing breach of contract, the unlawful means tort, intimidation, the conspiracy torts) and the misrepresentation economic torts (deceit, malicious falsehood, and passing off) — and their rationales. In addition, an optimum framework for these torts is suggested. However, that framework has to take on board the apparent tension within the House of Lords as revealed in the recent decisions in OBG v Allan and Total Network v Revenue. These decisions and the conflict of policy that appears to lie behind them reveal different agendas for the future development of the general economic torts. These agendas are debated (against the background of the growing academic debate) and a coherent approach suggested. As for the misrepresentation torts their potential for development is also discussed and the peril of allowing them to transform into unfair trading or misappropriation torts is explained. The thesis of this book remains that a coherent framework for these torts can best be constructed based on a narrow remit for the common law.Less
The economic torts for too long have been under-theorised and under-explored by academics and the judiciary alike. Also in recent years claimants have exploited the resulting chaos by attempting to use the economic torts in ever more exotic ways. This book attempts to provide practical legal research to both explore the ingredients of all these torts — both the general economic torts (inducing breach of contract, the unlawful means tort, intimidation, the conspiracy torts) and the misrepresentation economic torts (deceit, malicious falsehood, and passing off) — and their rationales. In addition, an optimum framework for these torts is suggested. However, that framework has to take on board the apparent tension within the House of Lords as revealed in the recent decisions in OBG v Allan and Total Network v Revenue. These decisions and the conflict of policy that appears to lie behind them reveal different agendas for the future development of the general economic torts. These agendas are debated (against the background of the growing academic debate) and a coherent approach suggested. As for the misrepresentation torts their potential for development is also discussed and the peril of allowing them to transform into unfair trading or misappropriation torts is explained. The thesis of this book remains that a coherent framework for these torts can best be constructed based on a narrow remit for the common law.
Wayne Norman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198293354
- eISBN:
- 9780191604126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198293356.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines the principles that liberal democrats, including liberal nationalists, should use when choosing between the constitutional and federal options discussed in the preceding ...
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This chapter examines the principles that liberal democrats, including liberal nationalists, should use when choosing between the constitutional and federal options discussed in the preceding chapter. Instead of envisaging a completely novel set of principles for multinational federal constitutionalism, it explores the normative resources available in some of the major theories typically used in uni-national states, including ‘classical’, ‘deliberative’, and ‘consequentialist’ theories of democracy; and ‘classical’ and ‘contractualist’ theories of constitutionalism. It argues for seven principles of recognition that would be appropriate for justifying certain design features in a multinational federal constitution.Less
This chapter examines the principles that liberal democrats, including liberal nationalists, should use when choosing between the constitutional and federal options discussed in the preceding chapter. Instead of envisaging a completely novel set of principles for multinational federal constitutionalism, it explores the normative resources available in some of the major theories typically used in uni-national states, including ‘classical’, ‘deliberative’, and ‘consequentialist’ theories of democracy; and ‘classical’ and ‘contractualist’ theories of constitutionalism. It argues for seven principles of recognition that would be appropriate for justifying certain design features in a multinational federal constitution.
Martin Shapiro
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199256488
- eISBN:
- 9780191600234
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256489.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The two papers in Ch. 5 examine how lawyers and law professors, operating in private arenas, successfully revived a pre-modern legal system, the Lex Mercatoria – the international body of trade law ...
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The two papers in Ch. 5 examine how lawyers and law professors, operating in private arenas, successfully revived a pre-modern legal system, the Lex Mercatoria – the international body of trade law derived from merchant practice. Shapiro’s paper, which was originally published in The State and Freedom of Contract (ed. Harry Scheiber, Stanford University Press) in 1998) first introduces the Lex Mercatoria (the law of merchants) in relation to freedom of contract and contract law, and then discusses globalizing tendencies in contract law, doctrine, and jurisprudence, before moving on to globalizing tendencies in contract practice, using the legal doctrine of conflict of laws as a baseline for measurement of globalization tendencies. Here, Lex Mercatoria (or general principles of law) often play a substantial part in the resolution of contract disputes, particularly where arbitration is involved. Shapiro goes on to deal with the unification of private law in the United States in the 1920s (the trans-state harmonization of contract law), which he uses as a benchmark to assess the massive post-Second World War movement to a global law of contract. Aspects addressed include the globalization of contracting practice and law, the American-style contract (in relation to franchising law and mineral (non-oil) development contracts), and developments in business organization and law institutions.Less
The two papers in Ch. 5 examine how lawyers and law professors, operating in private arenas, successfully revived a pre-modern legal system, the Lex Mercatoria – the international body of trade law derived from merchant practice. Shapiro’s paper, which was originally published in The State and Freedom of Contract (ed. Harry Scheiber, Stanford University Press) in 1998) first introduces the Lex Mercatoria (the law of merchants) in relation to freedom of contract and contract law, and then discusses globalizing tendencies in contract law, doctrine, and jurisprudence, before moving on to globalizing tendencies in contract practice, using the legal doctrine of conflict of laws as a baseline for measurement of globalization tendencies. Here, Lex Mercatoria (or general principles of law) often play a substantial part in the resolution of contract disputes, particularly where arbitration is involved. Shapiro goes on to deal with the unification of private law in the United States in the 1920s (the trans-state harmonization of contract law), which he uses as a benchmark to assess the massive post-Second World War movement to a global law of contract. Aspects addressed include the globalization of contracting practice and law, the American-style contract (in relation to franchising law and mineral (non-oil) development contracts), and developments in business organization and law institutions.
Simon Domberger
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198774570
- eISBN:
- 9780191596148
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198774575.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This concluding chapter contains some lessons from experience and conclusions regarding what is already known about contracting out, and how much more still needs to be found out. Four ‘lessons’ from ...
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This concluding chapter contains some lessons from experience and conclusions regarding what is already known about contracting out, and how much more still needs to be found out. Four ‘lessons’ from the contracting theory and experiences discussed in the book are worth noting: first, one of the most powerful effects of the switch from in‐house production to external supply is the change in incentives; second, there is a link that is not always clearly visible between the way that contractual arrangements are implemented and the benefits that are subsequently derived; third, contracts are relationships, and as such are governed by the factors that affect all relationships; and last, contractual relationships can be thought of as lying along a spectrum that runs from spot transactions at one end to vertical integration at the other.Less
This concluding chapter contains some lessons from experience and conclusions regarding what is already known about contracting out, and how much more still needs to be found out. Four ‘lessons’ from the contracting theory and experiences discussed in the book are worth noting: first, one of the most powerful effects of the switch from in‐house production to external supply is the change in incentives; second, there is a link that is not always clearly visible between the way that contractual arrangements are implemented and the benefits that are subsequently derived; third, contracts are relationships, and as such are governed by the factors that affect all relationships; and last, contractual relationships can be thought of as lying along a spectrum that runs from spot transactions at one end to vertical integration at the other.
Tomas Björk
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199271269
- eISBN:
- 9780191602849
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199271267.003.0026
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter discusses forward and futures contracts. It considers a fixed simple T-claim, □, at a time t. It shows that forward and futures contracts have the same claim □ as their underlying ...
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This chapter discusses forward and futures contracts. It considers a fixed simple T-claim, □, at a time t. It shows that forward and futures contracts have the same claim □ as their underlying object, but differ from the standard contract by way in which payments are made. Practice exercises are included.Less
This chapter discusses forward and futures contracts. It considers a fixed simple T-claim, □, at a time t. It shows that forward and futures contracts have the same claim □ as their underlying object, but differ from the standard contract by way in which payments are made. Practice exercises are included.
Oliver Hart
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198288817
- eISBN:
- 9780191596353
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198288816.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This book provides a framework for thinking about economic relationships and institutions such as firms. The basic argument is that in a world of incomplete contracts, institutional arrangements are ...
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This book provides a framework for thinking about economic relationships and institutions such as firms. The basic argument is that in a world of incomplete contracts, institutional arrangements are designed to allocate power among agents. The first part of the book is concerned with the boundaries of the firm. It is argued that traditional approaches such as the neoclassical, principal‐agent, and transaction costs theories cannot by themselves explain firm boundaries. The book describes a theory—the incomplete contracting or property rights approach—based on the idea that power and control matter when contracts are incomplete. If the terms of a transaction can always be renegotiated, the incentives of a party to undertake relationship‐specific investments will depend crucially on the ability to control the use of productive assets when renegotiation takes place. Asset ownership becomes an essential source of power. The theory suggests that firm boundaries are chosen to allocate power optimally among the various parties to a transaction. The foundations of incomplete contracting are also discussed.The remainder of the book applies incomplete contracting ideas to understand the financial structure of closely held and public companies. The analysis illustrates how debt acts as an automatic mechanism to constrain the behaviour of managers or owners of both kinds of companies. In closely held companies, debt can force an entrepreneur to pay out funds to investors rather than to himself. In a public company, ownership is dispersed among small shareholders causing a separation between ownership and control. It is argued that debt and equity choices, capital structure decisions, bankruptcy procedures, corporate governance, and takeovers, play a substantial role in limiting the ability of a (self‐interested) manager to make unprofitable but power‐enhancing decisions.Less
This book provides a framework for thinking about economic relationships and institutions such as firms. The basic argument is that in a world of incomplete contracts, institutional arrangements are designed to allocate power among agents. The first part of the book is concerned with the boundaries of the firm. It is argued that traditional approaches such as the neoclassical, principal‐agent, and transaction costs theories cannot by themselves explain firm boundaries. The book describes a theory—the incomplete contracting or property rights approach—based on the idea that power and control matter when contracts are incomplete. If the terms of a transaction can always be renegotiated, the incentives of a party to undertake relationship‐specific investments will depend crucially on the ability to control the use of productive assets when renegotiation takes place. Asset ownership becomes an essential source of power. The theory suggests that firm boundaries are chosen to allocate power optimally among the various parties to a transaction. The foundations of incomplete contracting are also discussed.
The remainder of the book applies incomplete contracting ideas to understand the financial structure of closely held and public companies. The analysis illustrates how debt acts as an automatic mechanism to constrain the behaviour of managers or owners of both kinds of companies. In closely held companies, debt can force an entrepreneur to pay out funds to investors rather than to himself. In a public company, ownership is dispersed among small shareholders causing a separation between ownership and control. It is argued that debt and equity choices, capital structure decisions, bankruptcy procedures, corporate governance, and takeovers, play a substantial role in limiting the ability of a (self‐interested) manager to make unprofitable but power‐enhancing decisions.
Gerhard Dannemann
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199533114
- eISBN:
- 9780191705526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199533114.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law, Law of Obligations
This chapter presents an overview of issues of concurrent liability. Topics covered include concurrent liability within unjustified enrichment, unjustified enrichment and contract law, unjustified ...
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This chapter presents an overview of issues of concurrent liability. Topics covered include concurrent liability within unjustified enrichment, unjustified enrichment and contract law, unjustified enrichment and negotiorum gestioun, justified enrichment and tort law, and unjustified enrichment and property law.Less
This chapter presents an overview of issues of concurrent liability. Topics covered include concurrent liability within unjustified enrichment, unjustified enrichment and contract law, unjustified enrichment and negotiorum gestioun, justified enrichment and tort law, and unjustified enrichment and property law.
Gøsta Esping‐Andersen
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199256433
- eISBN:
- 9780191599170
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256438.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This is an introductory chapter to the book, and it addresses the need for a new look at the welfare state in Europe. The different sections of the chapter are: The new welfare challenge; Emerging ...
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This is an introductory chapter to the book, and it addresses the need for a new look at the welfare state in Europe. The different sections of the chapter are: The new welfare challenge; Emerging blueprints for reform; Towards a viable new European welfare architecture—the need for a more effective methodology, the principles of justice, welfare as social investment, and rethinking security in old age; The three welfare pillars —markets, families, and government; Similar challenges for different welfare regimes— the Scandinavian welfare model, the ‘liberal’ welfare model, and the continental European welfare model; From national regimes towards a European model; and Rewriting the social contract—a new family policy, a new gender contract, social inclusion through employment, the generational contract.Less
This is an introductory chapter to the book, and it addresses the need for a new look at the welfare state in Europe. The different sections of the chapter are: The new welfare challenge; Emerging blueprints for reform; Towards a viable new European welfare architecture—the need for a more effective methodology, the principles of justice, welfare as social investment, and rethinking security in old age; The three welfare pillars —markets, families, and government; Similar challenges for different welfare regimes— the Scandinavian welfare model, the ‘liberal’ welfare model, and the continental European welfare model; From national regimes towards a European model; and Rewriting the social contract—a new family policy, a new gender contract, social inclusion through employment, the generational contract.
Amir Paz-Fuchs
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199237418
- eISBN:
- 9780191717192
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199237418.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Employment Law
This book examines welfare-to-work programmes in the United States and Britain, and develops a normative perspective to analyse and critique the theoretical and doctrinal justifications for ...
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This book examines welfare-to-work programmes in the United States and Britain, and develops a normative perspective to analyse and critique the theoretical and doctrinal justifications for welfare-to-work programmes. The book sheds light on the contractual paradigm that is advanced both as a new interpretation of citizenship, and as a jurisprudential mold for the configuration of the relationship between rights and responsibilities. Viewing rights as demanding responsibilities carries the threat that rights will lose their strategic role in practical reasoning. When this conceptualization is couched in social contract rhetoric that implies a continuous contract between citizens and the state, many conditions on welfare are supposedly legitimated. These include workfare, the obligation to accept any job offer, and several moral and social preconditions, based on a vague notion of reciprocity. This phenomenon has exacerbated over the last decade in social discourse in general, and in the field of welfare unemployment in particular. Following a critique of the prominence of the contractual conceptualization, the book suggests a structure of legitimate conditions on welfare benefits. This takes account of the contemporary appeal of personal responsibility, and reconciles it with the traditional fidelity that is owed to equality in the welfare state ideal. It is shown that equality's concern for the worst-off supports a recognition of a strong legal right to welfare. It concludes by showing that rather than undermining social inclusion and labour market integration, strengthening welfare rights and relaxing preconditions on entitlement would serve the very objectives that welfare-to-work programmes are supposed to advance.Less
This book examines welfare-to-work programmes in the United States and Britain, and develops a normative perspective to analyse and critique the theoretical and doctrinal justifications for welfare-to-work programmes. The book sheds light on the contractual paradigm that is advanced both as a new interpretation of citizenship, and as a jurisprudential mold for the configuration of the relationship between rights and responsibilities. Viewing rights as demanding responsibilities carries the threat that rights will lose their strategic role in practical reasoning. When this conceptualization is couched in social contract rhetoric that implies a continuous contract between citizens and the state, many conditions on welfare are supposedly legitimated. These include workfare, the obligation to accept any job offer, and several moral and social preconditions, based on a vague notion of reciprocity. This phenomenon has exacerbated over the last decade in social discourse in general, and in the field of welfare unemployment in particular. Following a critique of the prominence of the contractual conceptualization, the book suggests a structure of legitimate conditions on welfare benefits. This takes account of the contemporary appeal of personal responsibility, and reconciles it with the traditional fidelity that is owed to equality in the welfare state ideal. It is shown that equality's concern for the worst-off supports a recognition of a strong legal right to welfare. It concludes by showing that rather than undermining social inclusion and labour market integration, strengthening welfare rights and relaxing preconditions on entitlement would serve the very objectives that welfare-to-work programmes are supposed to advance.
Tomas Björk
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199271269
- eISBN:
- 9780191602849
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199271267.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This introductory chapter starts off the discussion on financial derivatives by explaining the European call option. It formulates the two main problems that will be the focus of the entire volume: ...
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This introductory chapter starts off the discussion on financial derivatives by explaining the European call option. It formulates the two main problems that will be the focus of the entire volume: What is a “fair” price for the contract? How does one protect (hedge) against the financial risks resulting from the sale of a derivative? The definition of financial derivative is then presented.Less
This introductory chapter starts off the discussion on financial derivatives by explaining the European call option. It formulates the two main problems that will be the focus of the entire volume: What is a “fair” price for the contract? How does one protect (hedge) against the financial risks resulting from the sale of a derivative? The definition of financial derivative is then presented.
René Schalk, Jeroen de Jong, Thomas Rigotti, Gisela Mohr, José Maria Peiró, and Amparo Caballer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199542697
- eISBN:
- 9780191715389
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199542697.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, HRM / IR
The psychological contract, as reported by both employers and employees, provides the main focus of this chapter. It starts by reviewing some of the main conceptual and operational issues in ...
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The psychological contract, as reported by both employers and employees, provides the main focus of this chapter. It starts by reviewing some of the main conceptual and operational issues in exploring the psychological contract. Analysis reveals that both employers and employees agree that permanent workers have a broader content of the psychological contract than temporary workers. Initial comparison also suggests that there is some imbalance of the psychological contracts of temporary works who promise more than they get in return while employers admit that they do not always fulfil their promises and obligations, particularly to temporary workers.Less
The psychological contract, as reported by both employers and employees, provides the main focus of this chapter. It starts by reviewing some of the main conceptual and operational issues in exploring the psychological contract. Analysis reveals that both employers and employees agree that permanent workers have a broader content of the psychological contract than temporary workers. Initial comparison also suggests that there is some imbalance of the psychological contracts of temporary works who promise more than they get in return while employers admit that they do not always fulfil their promises and obligations, particularly to temporary workers.
Nicholas Rescher
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198236016
- eISBN:
- 9780191679162
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198236016.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy, General
This book presents a critical reaction against two currently influential tendencies of thought. On the one hand, it rejects the facile relativism that pervades contemporary social and academic life. ...
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This book presents a critical reaction against two currently influential tendencies of thought. On the one hand, it rejects the facile relativism that pervades contemporary social and academic life. On the other hand, it opposes the rationalism inherent in new-contractarian theory — both in the idealized communicative-contract version promoted in continental European political philosophy by Jürgen Habermas, and in the idealized social-contract version of the theory promoted in the Anglo-American context by John Rawls. Against such tendencies, this pluralist approach takes a more realistic and pragmatic line, eschewing the convenient recourse of idealization in cognitive and practical matters. Instead of a utopianism that looks to a uniquely perfect order that would prevail under ideal conditions, it advocates incremental improvements within the framework or arrangements that none of us will deem perfect, but that all of us ‘can live with’. Such an approach replaces the yearning for an unattainable consensus with the institution of pragmatic arrangements in which the community will acquiesce — not through agreeing on their optimality, but through a shared recognition among the dissonant parties that the available options are even worse.Less
This book presents a critical reaction against two currently influential tendencies of thought. On the one hand, it rejects the facile relativism that pervades contemporary social and academic life. On the other hand, it opposes the rationalism inherent in new-contractarian theory — both in the idealized communicative-contract version promoted in continental European political philosophy by Jürgen Habermas, and in the idealized social-contract version of the theory promoted in the Anglo-American context by John Rawls. Against such tendencies, this pluralist approach takes a more realistic and pragmatic line, eschewing the convenient recourse of idealization in cognitive and practical matters. Instead of a utopianism that looks to a uniquely perfect order that would prevail under ideal conditions, it advocates incremental improvements within the framework or arrangements that none of us will deem perfect, but that all of us ‘can live with’. Such an approach replaces the yearning for an unattainable consensus with the institution of pragmatic arrangements in which the community will acquiesce — not through agreeing on their optimality, but through a shared recognition among the dissonant parties that the available options are even worse.
Margaret Jane Radin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155333
- eISBN:
- 9781400844838
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155333.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
Boilerplate—the fine-print terms and conditions that we become subject to when we click “I agree” online, rent an apartment, or enter an employment contract, for example—pervades all aspects of our ...
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Boilerplate—the fine-print terms and conditions that we become subject to when we click “I agree” online, rent an apartment, or enter an employment contract, for example—pervades all aspects of our modern lives. On a daily basis, most of us accept boilerplate provisions without realizing that should a dispute arise about a purchased good or service, the nonnegotiable boilerplate terms can deprive us of our right to jury trial and relieve providers of responsibility for harm. Boilerplate is the first comprehensive treatment of the problems posed by the increasing use of these terms, demonstrating how their use has degraded traditional notions of consent, agreement, and contract, and sacrificed core rights whose loss threatens the democratic order. This book examines attempts to justify the use of boilerplate provisions by claiming either that recipients freely consent to them or that economic efficiency demands them, and it finds these justifications wanting. It argues that our courts, legislatures, and regulatory agencies have fallen short in their evaluation and oversight of the use of boilerplate clauses. To improve legal evaluation of boilerplate, the book offers a new analytical framework, one that takes into account the nature of the rights affected, the quality of the recipient's consent, and the extent of the use of these terms. It goes on to offer possibilities for new methods of boilerplate evaluation and control, and concludes by discussing positive steps that NGOs, legislators, regulators, courts, and scholars could take to bring about better practices.Less
Boilerplate—the fine-print terms and conditions that we become subject to when we click “I agree” online, rent an apartment, or enter an employment contract, for example—pervades all aspects of our modern lives. On a daily basis, most of us accept boilerplate provisions without realizing that should a dispute arise about a purchased good or service, the nonnegotiable boilerplate terms can deprive us of our right to jury trial and relieve providers of responsibility for harm. Boilerplate is the first comprehensive treatment of the problems posed by the increasing use of these terms, demonstrating how their use has degraded traditional notions of consent, agreement, and contract, and sacrificed core rights whose loss threatens the democratic order. This book examines attempts to justify the use of boilerplate provisions by claiming either that recipients freely consent to them or that economic efficiency demands them, and it finds these justifications wanting. It argues that our courts, legislatures, and regulatory agencies have fallen short in their evaluation and oversight of the use of boilerplate clauses. To improve legal evaluation of boilerplate, the book offers a new analytical framework, one that takes into account the nature of the rights affected, the quality of the recipient's consent, and the extent of the use of these terms. It goes on to offer possibilities for new methods of boilerplate evaluation and control, and concludes by discussing positive steps that NGOs, legislators, regulators, courts, and scholars could take to bring about better practices.
Margaret Jane Radin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155333
- eISBN:
- 9781400844838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155333.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This book examines standardized form contracts, also known as boilerplate. In the past, “contract” was interpreted as a bargained-for exchange transaction between two parties who each consent to the ...
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This book examines standardized form contracts, also known as boilerplate. In the past, “contract” was interpreted as a bargained-for exchange transaction between two parties who each consent to the exchange. Bargained-for exchange represents contract in a world of voluntary agreement—World A (for Agreement). Standardized form contracts, on the other hand, belong to World B (for Boilerplate). World B doesn't fit the theory, the rationale, of contract law. This book explores judicial oversight of boilerplate through the legal doctrines of unconscionability and voidness as against public policy, among others. It also considers the problem of boilerplate rights deletion schemes as well as attempts to bring such schemes under the aegis of traditional contract theories. This chapter provides an overview of worlds A and B as well as varieties of World B contracts, boilerplate as a method of contract formation, and two problems arising from boilerplate: normative degradation and democratic degradation.Less
This book examines standardized form contracts, also known as boilerplate. In the past, “contract” was interpreted as a bargained-for exchange transaction between two parties who each consent to the exchange. Bargained-for exchange represents contract in a world of voluntary agreement—World A (for Agreement). Standardized form contracts, on the other hand, belong to World B (for Boilerplate). World B doesn't fit the theory, the rationale, of contract law. This book explores judicial oversight of boilerplate through the legal doctrines of unconscionability and voidness as against public policy, among others. It also considers the problem of boilerplate rights deletion schemes as well as attempts to bring such schemes under the aegis of traditional contract theories. This chapter provides an overview of worlds A and B as well as varieties of World B contracts, boilerplate as a method of contract formation, and two problems arising from boilerplate: normative degradation and democratic degradation.
