On the Efficiency of Negligence Rule

19 Pages Posted: 22 Jul 2009

See all articles by Satish K. Jain

Satish K. Jain

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR)

Date Written: July 20, 2009

Abstract

In the law and economics literature there are three different versions of negligence rule which have been discussed. These three versions are: (i) Injurer is liable for the entire loss if negligent, and not liable if nonnegligent. Injurer is negligent if his care level is below the due care level, otherwise nonnegligent. (ii) Injurer is liable for the incremental loss if negligent, and not liable if nonnegligent. Injurer is negligent if his care level is below the due care level, otherwise nonnegligent. (iii) Injurer is liable for the incremental loss if negligent, and not liable if nonnegligent. Injurer is negligent if there exists a precaution which could have been taken but was not, and which would have brought about reduction in expected loss of a magnitude greater than the cost of precaution; otherwise nonnegligent. In the literature it is taken for granted that all three versions of negligence rule are efficient. A careful analysis, however, shows that version (iii) is not efficient. This version, in fact, is not efficient even for the unilateral case. Efficiency of version (i) was established by Brown. Efficiency of version (ii) for the unilateral case was shown by Kahan; efficiency for the bilateral case is established in this paper.

Keywords: Standard Negligence Rule, Incremental Negligence Rule, Negligence as Shortfall from Due Care, Negligence as Existence of a Cost-Justified Untaken Precaution, Efficiency, Strategic Manipulability

JEL Classification: K13

Suggested Citation

Jain, Satish Kumar, On the Efficiency of Negligence Rule (July 20, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1436588 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1436588

Satish Kumar Jain (Contact Author)

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR)

Gen A.K. Vaidya Marg Santoshnagar
Goregaon (East)
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400065
India

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