Optimal Proof Burdens, Deterrence, and the Chilling of Desirable Behavior

Louis Kaplow

American Economic Review, 2011, vol. 101, issue 3, 277-80

Abstract: The optimal stringency of the burden of proof is characterized in a model in which relaxing the proof burden enhances deterrence but also chills desirable behavior. The result are strikingly different from those in prior work that uses a simpler model in which individuals only choose whether to commit a harmful act (so only deterrence is at stake). Moreover, the qualitative differences between the optimal rule and the familiar preponderance of the evidence rule--and related rules that look to Bayesian posteriors--are great, much more so than revealed by prior work.

Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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