观念的后果: 法律与经济学对美国司法的影响
Ideas Have Consequences: The Impact of Law and Economics on American Justice
Quarterly Journal of Economics · 2022 · [{"name": "Elliott Ash", "affiliation": ["ETH Zurich"]}, {"name": "Daniel L. Chen", "affiliation": ["Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique", "Toulouse School of Economics"]}, {"name": "Suresh Naidu", "affiliation": ["Columbia University"]}]
中文摘要
本文实证研究了早期法律与经济学运动对美国司法机构的影响。我们聚焦于Manne联邦法官经济学研究所——一门面向联邦法官的密集经济学课程，该课程在1976年至1999年间培训了近一半的联邦法官。利用美国巡回法院已发表判决意见全集以及100万份地区法院刑事量刑裁决，我们估计了参加Manne项目对法官个体内的影响。对该项目的参与选择性有限：该项目在各类背景的法官中都广受欢迎，经常超额报名，并按先到先得原则录取参与者。我们发现，参加经济学培训后，参与法官在其判决意见中使用了更多经济学语言，更频繁地作出不利于监管机构的裁决，并判处更严厉的刑罚。我们认为，经济学作为一门严谨的社会科学，在说服法官方面尤其有效。
Abstract
Abstract This article empirically studies the effects of the early law and economics movement on the U.S. judiciary. We focus on the Manne Economics Institute for Federal Judges, an intensive economics course that trained almost half of federal judges between 1976 and 1999. Using the universe of published opinions in U.S. Circuit Courts and 1 million District Court criminal sentencing decisions, we estimate the within-judge effect of Manne program attendance. Selection into attendance was limited, as the program was popular among judges of all backgrounds, frequently oversubscribed, and admitted participants on a first-come, first-served basis. We find that after attending economics training, participating judges use more economics language in their opinions, rule against regulatory agencies more often, and impose more severe criminal sentences. We argue that economics, as a rigorous social science, was especially effective in persuading judges.