cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tracking Emerges by Looking Around Static Scenes, with Neural 3D Mapping

We hypothesize that an agent that can look around in static scenes can learn rich visual representations applicable to 3D object tracking in complex dynamic scenes. We are motivated in this pursuit by the fact that the physical world itself is mostly static, and multiview correspondence labels are relatively cheap to collect in static scenes, e.g., by triangulation. We propose to leverage multiview data of static points in arbitrary scenes (static or dynamic), to learn a neural 3D mapping module which produces features that are correspondable across time. The neural 3D mapper consumes RGB-D data as input, and produces a 3D voxel grid of deep features as output. We train the voxel features to be correspondable across viewpoints, using a contrastive loss, and correspondability across time emerges automatically. At test time, given an RGB-D video with approximate camera poses, and given the 3D box of an object to track, we track the target object by generating a map of each timestep and locating the object’s features within each map. In contrast to models that represent video streams in 2D or 2.5D, our model’s 3D scene representation is disentangled from projection artifacts, is stable under camera motion, and is robust to partial occlusions. We test the proposed architectures in challenging simulated and real data, and show that our unsupervised 3D object trackers outperform prior unsupervised 2D and 2.5D trackers, and approach the accuracy of supervised trackers. This work demonstrates that 3D object trackers can emerge without tracking labels, through multiview self-supervision on static data.
Hybrid KNN-join: Parallel nearest neighbor searches exploiting CPU and GPU architectural features

Abstract K Nearest Neighbor (KNN) joins are used in scientific domains for data analysis, and are building blocks of several well-known algorithms. KNN-joins find the KNN of all points in a dataset. This paper focuses on a hybrid CPU/GPU approach for low-dimensional KNN-joins, where the GPU may not yield substantial performance gains over parallel CPU algorithms. We utilize a work queue that prioritizes computing data points in high density regions on the GPU, and low density regions on the CPU, thereby taking advantage of each architecture’s relative strengths. Our approach, HybridKNN-Join , effectively augments a state-of-the-art multi-core CPU algorithm. We propose optimizations that ( i ) maximize GPU query throughput by assigning the GPU large batches of work; ( i i ) increase workload granularity to optimize GPU utilization; and, ( i i i ) limit load imbalance between CPU and GPU architectures. We compare HybridKNN-Join to one GPU and two parallel CPU reference implementations. Compared to the reference implementations, we find that the hybrid algorithm performs best on larger workloads (dataset size and K). The methods employed in this paper show promise for the general division of work in other hybrid algorithms.
Stellar Orbits in Doubly-Barred Galaxies

The question of bars within bars has been reviewed by Friedli and Martinet (1993), who have also performed N-body simulations to produce nested bars. They propose that if a system of embedded bars is effective in transporting gas to the galactic center (Shlosman et al. 1989), then it is perhaps a step in the secular evolution of barred galaxies. In order to pursue this interesting proposition, and also because observational evidence for the existence of secondary bars is mounting (e.g. Buta & Crocker 1993; Shaw et al. 1993, Wozniak et al. 1995), it is important to understand the stellar kinematics in such systems.
Tetris is NP-hard even with O (1) Rows or Columns

We prove that the classic falling-block video game Tetris (both survival and board clearing) remains NP-complete even when restricted to 8 columns, or to 4 rows, settling open problems posed over 15 years ago [BDH+04]. Our reduction is from 3-Partition, similar to the previous reduction for unrestricted board sizes, but with a better packing of buckets. On the positive side, we prove that 2-column Tetris (and 1-row Tetris) is polynomial. We also prove that the generalization of Tetris to larger $k$-omino pieces is NP-complete even when the board starts empty, even when restricted to 3 columns or 2 rows or constant-size pieces. Finally, we present an animated Tetris font.
On Statistical Efficiency in Learning

A central issue of many statistical learning problems is to select an appropriate model from a set of candidate models. Large models tend to inflate the variance (or overfitting), while small models tend to cause biases (or underfitting) for a given fixed dataset. In this work, we address the critical challenge of model selection to strike a balance between model fitting and model complexity, thus gaining reliable predictive power. We consider the task of approaching the theoretical limit of statistical learning, meaning that the selected model has the predictive performance that is as good as the best possible model given a class of potentially misspecified candidate models. We propose a generalized notion of Takeuchi’s information criterion and prove that the proposed method can asymptotically achieve the optimal out-sample prediction loss under reasonable assumptions. It is the first proof of the asymptotic property of Takeuchi’s information criterion to our best knowledge. Our proof applies to a wide variety of nonlinear models, loss functions, and high dimensionality (in the sense that the models’ complexity can grow with sample size). The proposed method can be used as a computationally efficient surrogate for leave-one-out cross-validation. Moreover, for modeling streaming data, we propose an online algorithm that sequentially expands the model complexity to enhance selection stability and reduce computation cost. Experimental studies show that the proposed method has desirable predictive power and significantly less computational cost than some popular methods.
A sound method for axillary vein access.

Ultrasound guided venous access Is important to minimize pneumothorax and unnecessary incisions in patients undergoing device implant.
Center-level CABG and valve operative outcomes and volume-outcome relationships in New York State.

Background We analyzed center-level outcome correlations between valve surgery and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in New York (NY) State and how volume-outcome effect differ between case types. Methods We used the 2014-2016 NY cardiac surgery outcomes report. Center-level observed to-expected (observed-to-expected ratio [O/E]) ratio for operative mortality provided risk-adjusted operative outcomes for isolated CABG and valve operations. Correlation coefficient characterized the concordance in center-level outcomes in CABG and valve. Discordant outcomes were defined as having O/E ratio greater than 2 in one operation type with O/E ratio ≤1 in another. Linearized slope of volume-outcome effect in case types offered insights into centers with discordant performances between procedures. Results Among 37 NY centers, annual center volumes were 220 ± 120 cases for CABG and 190 ± 178 cases for valve operations. Modest center-level correlation between CABG and valve O/E ratio was shown (R2 = 0.31). Two centers had discordant performance between valve and CABG (O/E ≤ 1 for CABG while O/E > 2 for valve procedures). No centers had CABG O/E ratio greater than 2 while valve O/E ratio ≤1. Linearized slope describing volume-outcome effects showed stronger effect in valve operations compared to CABG: O/E ratio declined 0.1 units per 100 CABG volume increase, while O/E ratio declined 0.33 units per 100 valve volume increase. Conclusion In NY hospitals, favorable valve outcomes may indicate good CABG outcomes but good CABG outcomes may not ensure valve outcomes. Outcome variation in valve operation could be related to stronger volume-outcome effect in valve operations relative to CABG. Valve operations may benefit from regionalization.
Hidden Footprints: Learning Contextual Walkability from 3D Human Trails

Predicting where people can walk in a scene is important for many tasks, including autonomous driving systems and human behavior analysis. Yet learning a computational model for this purpose is challenging due to semantic ambiguity and a lack of labeled data: current datasets only tell you where people are, not where they could be. We tackle this problem by leveraging information from existing datasets, without additional labeling. We first augment the set of valid, labeled walkable regions by propagating person observations between images, utilizing 3D information to create what we call hidden footprints. However, this augmented data is still sparse. We devise a training strategy designed for such sparse labels, combining a class-balanced classification loss with a contextual adversarial loss. Using this strategy, we demonstrate a model that learns to predict a walkability map from a single image. We evaluate our model on the Waymo and Cityscapes datasets, demonstrating superior performance compared to baselines and state-of-the-art models.
Phage infection and sub-lethal antibiotic exposure mediate Enterococcus faecalis type VII secretion system dependent inhibition of bystander bacteria

Bacteriophages (phages) are being considered as alternative therapeutics for the treatment of multidrug resistant bacterial infections. Considering phages have narrow host-ranges, it is generally accepted that therapeutic phages will have a marginal impact on non-target bacteria. We have discovered that lytic phage infection induces transcription of type VIIb secretion system (T7SS) genes in the pathobiont Enterococcus faecalis. Membrane damage during phage infection induces T7SS gene expression resulting in cell contact dependent antagonism of different Gram positive bystander bacteria. Deletion of essB, a T7SS structural component, abrogates phage-mediated killing of bystanders. A predicted immunity gene confers protection against T7SS mediated inhibition, and disruption of its upstream LXG toxin gene rescues growth of E. faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus bystanders. Phage induction of T7SS gene expression and bystander inhibition requires IreK, a serine/threonine kinase, and OG1RF_11099, a predicted GntR-family transcription factor. Additionally, sub-lethal doses of membrane targeting and DNA damaging antibiotics activated T7SS expression independent of phage infection, triggering T7SS antibacterial activity against bystander bacteria. Our findings highlight how phage infection and antibiotic exposure of a target bacterium can affect non-target bystander bacteria and implies that therapies beyond antibiotics, such as phage therapy, could impose collateral damage to polymicrobial communities.
Neural Mechanisms of Human Decision-Making

We present a theory and neural network model of the neural mechanisms underlying human decision-making. We propose a detailed model of the interaction between brain regions, under a proposer-predictor-actor-critic​ ​framework. This theory is based on detailed animal data and theories of action-selection. Those theories are adapted to serial operation to bridge levels of analysis and explain human decision-making. Task-relevant areas of cortex propose a candidate plan using fast, model-free, parallel neural computations. Other areas of cortex and medial temporal lobe can then predict​ likely outcomes of that plan in this situation. This optional prediction- (or model-) based computation can produce better accuracy and generalization, at the expense of speed. Next, linked regions of basal ganglia act​ to accept or reject the proposed plan based on its reward history in similar contexts. If that plan is rejected, the process repeats to consider a new option. The reward-prediction system acts as a critic​ to determine the value of the outcome relative to expectations and produce dopamine as a training signal for cortex and basal ganglia. By operating sequentially and hierarchically, the same mechanisms previously proposed for animal action-selection could explain the most complex human plans and decisions. We discuss explanations of model-based decisions, habitization, and risky behavior based on the computational model.
Market Orientation, Performance, and Perceived Environmental Uncertainty in South Korean Apparel Retail Stores

This paper investigates the effects of environmental uncertainty on the performance and market-orientation (MO) strategies of South Korean apparel retailers, and the effects of their MO strategies on their performance. Market turbulence negatively affects retailers' performance and the use of some MO strategies, but their use of some MO strategies positively affects performance.
Vertical Networks, Integration, and Connectivity

This paper studies competition in a network industry with a stylized two layered network structure, and examines: (i) price and connectivity incentives of the upstream networks, and (ii) incentives for vertical integration between an upstream network provider and a downstream firm. The main result of this paper is that vertical integration occurs only if the initial installed-base difference between the upstream networks is sufficiently small, and in that case, industry is configured with two vertically integrated networks, which yields highest incentives to invest in quality of interconnection. When the installed-base difference is sufficiently large, there is no integration in the industry, and neither of the firms have an incentive to invest in quality of interconnection. An industry configuration in which only the large network integrates and excludes (or raises cost of) its downstream rival does not appear as an equilibrium outcome: in the presence of a large asymmetry between the networks, when quality of interconnection is a strategic variable, the large network can exercise a substantial market power without vertical integration. Therefore, a vertically separated industry structure does not necessarily yield procompetitive outcomes.
An analysis of economic cost minimization and biological invasion damage control using the AWQ criterion

DeAngelo et al. (New approaches to the Economics of plant health. Springer, Heidelberg, 2006) have recently used the AWS criterion in a M/G/1 queuing model to show that there is no necessary tension between economic cost minimization and inspection stringency in non-native species management. In this paper, we use an alternate cost criterion (AWQ criterion) to investigate the generality of this central result in DeAngelo et al. (New approaches to the Economics of plant health. Springer, Heidelberg, 2006). Our theoretical analysis shows that there is no unambiguous answer to this question. Therefore, we use numerical methods and our numerical analysis leads to two findings. First, for many values of the model parameters that describe the strictness of inspections, there is a tension between cost minimization and inspection stringency. Second, for most values of the model parameter that depicts the volume of maritime trade handled by the seaport under consideration, there is no tension between cost minimization and inspection stringency.
Teaching Tax Stories

In an attempt to dispel students' preconceived notions and to make tax more teachable, legal academics have considered several ways to approach the teaching of tax, in both introductory and advanced courses. Some have argued that tax teachers should employ an "active approach" that requires students to struggle directly with the intricacies of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations.' Others have suggested thatJ.D. tax courses should be guided by an "interdisciplinary, process-oriented approach" that examines tax issues from multiple perspectives, not just that of the legal practitioner. 5 And still others have contended that law professors ought to apply "critical methods to teaching tax," exploring how issues of race, class, gender, and other nontraditional categories of analysis intersect with tax law. 6
Copyright's Asymmetric Uncertainty

Conventional wisdom holds that the pervasive uncertainty in copyright law is intolerable because it inhibits expression—those who would engage in lawful uses of copyrighted works abstain for fear of crushing liability. The argument is right but for the wrong reasons. It is based on the often-unstated assumption that users who face liability are risk averse. But the leading account of decision making under uncertainty suggests that those facing potential losses are in fact risk seeking, while those facing potential gains are risk averse. In light of this asymmetry in risk preferences, copyright’s asymmetric distribution of uncertainty—salient issues for users are opaque while those for copyright holders are clear—promotes access while preserving copyright holder incentives. Users discount the risks of boundary crossing because the doctrines of access make the boundaries unpredictable, and copyright holders overvalue their entitlements because they are reliable, protecting against the most feared uses of their works with predictably potent remedies. In short, the system exploits asymmetric risk preferences through its asymmetric distribution of uncertainty. Good economics does not always make good law, however. The Rule of Law ideal also values clarity in an asymmetric way: the need for notice is at its zenith where the law imposes punishment and its nadir where the law confers benefits. Even if it is true that copyright’s asymmetric uncertainty promotes maximal expression, forcing users to shoulder the burdens of uncertainty in the name of social welfare evinces a disrespect for user autonomy that is inconsistent with the Rule of Law.
Valuing diversity: a group‐value approach to understanding the importance of organizational efforts to support diversity

Summary Using Leventhal’s rules as well as the group-value model of procedural justice, we first examined how the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on procedural justice judgments can be attenuated by perceived organizational efforts to support diversity. Secondly, we examine how these effects ultimately impact affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. We found that employees who believe some individuals in the workplace are discriminating against them on the basis of race tend to report lower levels of procedural justice from the organization. However, this negative relationship was attenuated when employees perceived that their organization was making efforts to support diversity. Results suggest that individuals’ perceptions of organizational efforts to support diversity can help restore perceptions of procedural justice for employees who experience racial discrimination at work. Improving procedural justice also positively impacts affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior directed at the organization. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predicting the Equity Premium with Dividend Ratios

Our paper suggests a simple, recursive residuals (out-of-sample) graphical approach to evaluating the predictive power of popular equity premium and stock market time-series forecasting regressions. When applied, we find that dividend ratios should have been known to have no predictive ability even prior to the 1990s, and that any seeming ability even then was driven by only two years, 1973 and 1974. Our paper also documents changes in the time-series processes of the dividends themselves and shows that an increasing persistence of dividend-price ratio is largely responsible for the inability of dividend ratios to predict equity premia. Cochrane's (1997) accounting identity--that dividend ratios have to predict long-run dividend growth or stock returns--empirically holds only over horizons longer than 5--10 years. Over shorter horizons, dividend yields primarily forecast themselves.
Compositional Effects of Capital Controls – Theory and Evidence

This paper examines the effects of capital controls on the composition of inter-national capital flows, paying particular attention to debt inflows versus equity inflows. A two-period small open economy model with stochastic second-period output and asymmetric information between domestic agents and international financiers is utilised to generate predictions regarding the effects of capital controls on the relative use of debt versus equity for financing first-period investment. These capital control implications are then investigated with quarterly frequency panel data for Latin America. Capital controls are found to significantly affect the composition of the capital account.
The Political Economy of International Sales Law

Abstract The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, or CISG, purports to harmonize the law that applies to international sales contracts. In this paper, we argue that the effort to create uniform international sales law (ISL) fails to supply contracting parties with the default terms they prefer, thus violating the normative criterion that justifies the law-making process for commercial actors in the first instance. Our argument rests on three claims. First, we contend that the process by which uniform ISL is drafted will dictate the form that many provisions take. Second, we contend that the legal form dictated by the drafting process has significant substantive consequences, particularly for the policy objectives of uniform ISL. Third, we predict that in order to achieve uniform ISL that is widely adopted, those involved in the drafting process will systematically promulgate many vague standards that contracting parties would not choose for themselves. These defaults cannot be justified as the inevitable cost of achieving an optimal level of uniformity. If the products of a uniform ISL are default terms that parties do not want, then the underlying justification for the law-making function – reduction of contracting costs – vanishes. We find significant correspondence between our predictions about the drafting of uniform international sales law and the CISG. The CISG was drafted by parties whose objectives did not necessarily coincide with those of the commercial actors whose conduct the treaty was intended to regulate. The result is a variety of vague standards and compromises that appear inconsistent with commercial interests. We conclude by suggesting that commercial actors involved in international sales would prefer to choose governing law from among legal regimes that compete to supply parties with more desirable substantive terms.
An Efficient Taper for Potentially Overdifferenced Long-memory Time Series

We propose a new complex-valued taper and derive the properties of a tapered Gaussian semiparametric estimator of the long-memory parameter de (−0.5, 1.5). The estimator and its accompanying theory can be applied to generalized unit root testing. In the proposed method, the data are differenced once before the taper is applied. This guarantees that the tapered estimator is invariant with respect to deterministic linear trends in the original series. Any detrimental leakage effects due to the potential noninvertibility of the differenced series are strongly mitigated by the taper. The proposed estimator is shown to be more efficient than existing invariant tapered estimators. Invariance to kth order polynomial trends can be attained by differencing the data k times and then applying a stronger taper, which is given by the kth power of the proposed taper. We show that this new family of tapers enjoys strong efficiency gains over comparable existing tapers. Analysis of both simulated and actual data highlights potential advantages of the tapered estimator of d compared with the nontapered estimator.
Transitional Arrangements for Trade and Payments among the CMEA Countries

The CMEA countries are starting to conduct their trade at world prices and in convertible currencies. These are crucial steps in economic reform but will worsen Eastern Europe's terms of trade and drive it into current account deficit with the U.S.S.R. Proposals have been made for a payments union, resembling the European Payments Union of 1950-58, to ease the transition. Such an arrangement would not function well if it included the U.S.S.R., which would be a persistent creditor. Other ways must be found to deal with the transition.
Measuring competition in spatial retail

We propose a framework for analyzing spatial competition between retailers of different formats. Our approach yields localized measures of concentration and store-level diversion ratios that can be used to prospectively evaluate mergers in highly differentiated retail markets. Our method does not require the analyst to define markets ex ante, collect prices or construct ad hoc price indices. Using data from the supermarket industry, we evaluate two representative mergers. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find substantial cross-format competition between supercenters, club stores, and traditional grocers. Our analysis cautions against ignoring the impact of new formats when evaluating mergers between traditional grocers.
National Regulation of Multinational Enterprises: An Essay on Comity, Extraterritoriality, and Harmonization

This Essay seeks to lay out a conceptual model or matrix for analyzing the application of national laws to MNEs. This matrix seeks to answer the following questions: When should a legislator in a home or host country seek to apply a national law to MNEs operating in her country on an extraterritorial basis (the "enterprise approach")? When, on the other hand, should she be content with applying the law only to the part of the MNE within her country's territory (the "entity approach")? As we shall see, these questions have both a normative and a positive aspect. Parts II to IV of this Essay then apply the model developed in Part I to specific areas of law. Part II involves applications where the entity approach is preferable, with occasional deviations on the basis of comity. The examples are drawn from areas of private law such as contracts and torts. Parts III and IV involve applications where the enterprise approach is preferable. Part III discusses applications in which the preferred approach is the extraterritorial extension of a country's laws to the MNE on a unilateral basis. The examples are drawn from criminal law (corruption), labor law, bankruptcy and tax. Part IV analyzes situations in which the preferred approach is harmonization of the relevant laws in an appropriate international forum. Examples are taken from constitutional law (discrimination), antitrust, and trading with the enemy law. Finally, Part V concludes by recommending the establishment of a World Investment Organization to facilitate discussion of the areas in which harmonization is the preferred approach.
Capital market consequences of managers' voluntary disclosure styles ☆

Abstract This paper studies the capital market consequences of managers establishing an individual forecasting style. Using a manager-firm matched panel dataset, I examine whether and when manager-specific credibility matters. If managers' forecasting styles affect their perceived credibility, then the stock price reaction to forecast news should increase with managers' prior forecasting accuracy. Consistent with this prediction, I find that the stock price reaction to management forecast news is stronger when information uncertainty is high and when the manager has a history of issuing more accurate forecasts, indicating that individual managers benefit from establishing a personal disclosure reputation.
The Japanese slump

I am delighted to be able to contribute to honor Horst Siebert on his 65th birthday. As director of the Kiel Institute of World Economics, he has continued the classical liberal tradition which his predecessor Herbert Giersch did so much to refurbish, by not least having its voice heard in the highest echelons of German policy making, as one of the ‘wise men’ from the country’s leading economic research institutes advising the German government on economic policy. As such I thought it would be fitting in a festschrift for him to revisit the 1930s debates between Hayek and Keynes on the macroeconomy as reflected through the prism of the ongoing (as I write in early 2002) Japanese slump.
"On the Chastity of Women All Property in the World Depends" : Injury from Sexual Slander in the Nineteenth Century

In this Article, Professor Pruitt discusses conceptions of the injury associated with defamation law, focusing in particular on sexual slander cases that were brought in the early nineteenth century, before statements that impugned a woman's chastity were deemed slander per se. During this time, women had to prove so-called special damages in order to state a cause of action. Courts showed some flexibility in what they recognized as constituting special damages, even stretching to recognize pecuniary harm in damaged personal relationships. Nevertheless, courts refused to recognize injuries stemming from and related to emotional distress injuries, and they were often skeptical that a variety of harms claimed by women were the direct and natural consequences of the offending statement. In studying what courts viewed to be special damages and therefore worthy of redress in this context, Professor Pruitt's work reveals several insights. First, we learn something of the nature of the reputational interest protected by defamation law. In particular, Professor Pruitt argues that courts viewed these slandered women's reputations as a form of property, and they ignored the dignitary nature of the injury. In addition, these cases provide an opportunity to see another example of the gendered trends in tort law that have been identified by scholars such as Professor Martha Chamallas. Professor Chamallas has argued that tort law values property and economic injury over relational and emotional injury, and that injuries may be judicially characterized as one or the other based upon the gender of the sufferer. Professor Pruitt's analysis points out the presence of these value hierarchies in sexual slander cases, just as Professor Chamallas has established their presence elsewhere in tort law. Finally, Professor Pruitt argues that sexual slander law was an additional way in which women's sexual propriety was commodified, ultimately to the benefit of their fathers and husbands. She argues that a preferable scheme would have permitted courts more expansive jurisdiction over sexual slander claims, as well as power to provide a more expansive array of remedies. That is, drawing on the remedies of apology and repentance that had been available in English ecclesiastical courts - remedies remarkably similar to retraction and declaratory judgment remedies that are associated with contemporary defamation reform - nineteenth-century courts could have avoided propertizing women's virtue. At the same time, they could have provided appropriate remedies to more of the women who had been injured by sexual slander.
ARE CEOS REALLY PAID LIKE BUREAUCRATS

A common view is that there is little correlation between firm performance and CEO pay. Using a new fifteen-year panel data set of CEOs in the largest, publicly traded U. S. companies, we document a strong relationship between firm performance and CEO compensation. This relationship is generated almost entirely by changes in the value of CEO holdings of stock and stock options. In addition, we show that both the level of CEO compensation and the sensitivity of compensation to firm performance have risen dramatically since 1980, largely because of increases in stock option grants.
The Theistic Argument from Beauty: A Philonian Critique

In this paper I consider an understudied form of the design argument which focuses on the beauty of the natural world and which argues, on that basis, that the world requires a divine Artist in order to explain its beauty. Against this view, one might raise a question concerning the beauty of, and in, this divine Artist. What explains the divine beauty? This kind of explanatory regress objection is exactly like that used by Philo in Hume’s Dialogues to undercut standard versions of the design argument focused on the orderliness of the world. Here I argue that Philo’s explanatory regress objection likewise significantly undercuts versions of the design argument focusing on the beauty of the world.
The Obama Administration’s Decision to Defend Constitutional Equality Rather Than the Defense of Marriage Act

When President Barack Obama announced his view that the Defense of Marriage Act1 (DOMA) violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection,2 he joined a storied line of Presidents who have acted upon their own constitutional determinations in the absence of, and on rare occasion contrary to, those of the U.S. Supreme Court. How best to proceed in the face of a federal statute the President considers unconstitutional can involve complex judgments, as was true of the difficult decision to enforce but not defend DOMA. Ordinarily the Department of Justice should adhere to its tradition of defending statutes against constitutional challenge, but I believe that DOMA constituted a rare exception. To defend DOMA’s discrimination would have required making arguments that the Obama Administration did not consider reasonable and that in their very making would have exacerbated the constitutional harm to the equality and dignity of Americans on the basis of sexual orientation. President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder acted appropriately and admirably in choosing instead to present their actual views on sexual orientation discrimination, just as their predecessors did on racial segregation, thereby leaving DOMA’s defense to Congress and the ultimate resolution to the courts. Judicial review plays a familiar and central role in constitutional interpretation: Supreme Court pronouncements on the constitutionality of statutes dominate constitutional law as traditionally taught and understood. But presidential review of legislation also can raise weighty questions. In a prominent early example, President George Washington called upon his
How Do Consumers Fare When Dealing with Debt Collectors? Evidence from Out-of-Court Settlements

Do deals with debt collectors alleviate consumer financial distress? Using new data linking court and credit registry records, we examine civil collection lawsuits where consumers can settle out of court. Random assignment of judges with different styles generates exogenous variation in the likelihood of settlement negotiations. We find that settlements increase financial distress relative to going to court, likely by draining consumers of liquidity. The effect is stronger among less financially literate consumers. Survey evidence suggests that consumers generally overestimate how much they would pay through the court system. Some consumers are also motivated to settle by perceived non-pecuniary benefits.
Making the Law: Unpublication in the District Courts

In recent years, scholars have engaged the issue of systematic unpublication of judicial opinions in the appellate courts and the problems its poses for judicial accountability and transparency. And not just scholars. Interestingly, amid all of the talk about unpublication on the appellate courts, the practice of unpublication in the district courts has gone essentially unnoticed. In this Article, I address the issue of unpublication in the district courts from a normative perspective for the first time. I argue that unpublication in the district court context raises an even broader set of concerns than unpublication in the appellate context. My argument rests on two fundamental points. First, district courts play a unique institutional role in our system of adjudication, one that gives district judges exceptional power to make and shape the law. Indeed, from the perspective of a realist, district judges have even greater control over the law than do their appellate counterparts, and yet they often operate free from appellate oversight and public scrutiny. Second, in contrast to the appellate context, where even unpublished opinions are usually available for public review, in the district court context, unpublished opinions effectively disappear from the public's view. Thus, district courts, the central location of lawmaking in our system, are rendered opaque, and our district judges unaccountable. The consequences of this opacity and unaccountability are serious. From the perspective of the legal academic, unpublication erects serious epistemological barriers; we cannot accurately describe, let alone assess, the law as it really is. This, in turn, has led to an unduly formalistic and distorted account of the law and of the district courts for ourselves and our students. But the epistemological problems are not merely the concern of those of us who study and critique judicial behavior for a living; there is a deep and fundamental problem with a system that creates a body of law and norms that are unknowable to the people they govern. And, from a practical standpoint, unpublication by district courts deprives district and appellate judges, attorneys, and those who are governed by district courts, of information about the law, distorting its development. Additionally, it subtly encourages judges to treat some cases with less care than with others, and allows them to make unprincipled rulings.
Debtor-in-possession financing ☆

Abstract Several recent papers have documented the benefits of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing in the restructuring of firms in Chapter 11. However, the view on benefits is not unanimous and some legal scholars have raised doubts about DIP financing's effects on debt-holders and the possibility of expropriative wealth transfers. In this paper we address this issue by analyzing both stock and bond price data for a comprehensive sample of DIP loans and find significant positive abnormal stock and bond returns at the announcement of DIP loans. Also, we do not find evidence of wealth transfers from junior to senior debt-holders. Further, we examine the DIP loan process in detail and we document important institutional features of DIP loans such as maturity, covenants, fees and interest charges. We find evidence of intense monitoring using covenants. We also find higher fees and charges associated with DIP loans. We argue that overall the results are consistent with the information processing role of financial intermediaries.
Budget Control in Virginia Public School Districts

This article examines the selection and use of a budget approval technique. Specifically, two research questions are addressed: (1) Does the use of a particular budget approval method by a governmental body impact the execution of the budget? (2) What characteristics of a local government are associated with its decision to use a particular budget approval method? Both research questions are addressed by analyzing data from public school systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia, specifically, whether using categorical budget approval differs in the accuracy of budgeting versus using a lump-sum approval method. Characteristics of Virginia school districts are also analyzed according to whether any of them are likely to be associated with school districts using a particular approval method. The remainder of this article is organized as follows: the next section describes the role of budgeting control in schools; subsequent sections review Virginia school district budgeting practices, develop the empirical model used to test the hypotheses, describe the sample, analyze the results of empirical tests and discuss implications of the findings.
Strategic Planning Improves Manufacturing Performance

Abstract A quantitative critique of 28 studies concludes that formal planning is valuable for firms. The results were particularly favourable for manufacturing firms: nine studies found formal planning to be associated with better performance and none found detrimental performance.
Corruption in Cities: Graft and Politics in American Cities at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

The essay is an exploration of corruption as practiced by city politicians in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Corruption is generally considered to be bad for the performance of governments and for the growth and development of economies, but American cities grew rapidly and were, as far as tangible evidence suggests, relatively well governed. I propose the answer to this conundrum lies in the exact types of graft which were possible. Skimming from city contracts and manipulating local real estate markets encouraged politicians to pursue growth enhancing policies. Many of the most damaging forms of government interference - closing borders and pursuing input-substituting policies - are not possible in cities. Patronage politics made corruption more likely by insulating politicians from (some) voter wrath, but the ability of the tax base to depart the city provided some constraints on rent-extraction. The city Boss did not want to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. The analysis of urban graft is based on contemporary reports, especially the very detailed reports in Shame of the Cities' by Lincoln Steffens. The analysis also answers other important questions raised by the experience of Progressive Era cities: Why did businessmen back reform? And why did machine politics rise, and fall, between 1890 and 1930?
Consumer confusion of percent differences

Abstract The present research investigated consumers' intuitions about percent differences. We found that the perceived difference between two quantities compared on a percent scale varies as a function of the target of the comparison. The subjective price difference between a $1500 and a $1000 moped, for instance, increased when the former was described as 50% more than the latter than when the latter was described as 33% less than the former (Experiment 1). This effect (1) is limited to comparisons made on a ratio scale, (2) varies as a function of the percent difference between the two quantities, and (3) applies not only to price but also to other quantifiable attributes (Experiments 2–4). Finally, Experiment 5 found that the bias was reduced (but not eliminated) with financial incentives for accuracy and persisted even among highly numerate individuals. Discussion focuses on the source and the implications of this bias.
The Effects of Merger Efficiencies on Consumers of Differentiated Products

(2005). The Effects of Merger Efficiencies on Consumers of Differentiated Products. European Competition Journal: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 245-264.
Originalism as Faith

Originalism as Faith presents a comprehensive history of the originalism debates. It shows how the doctrine is rarely used by the Supreme Court, but is employed by academics, pundits and judges to maintain the mistaken faith that the Court decides cases under the law instead of the Justices' personal values. Tracing the development of the doctrine from the founding to present day, Eric J. Segall shows how originalism is used by judges as a pretext for reaching politically desirable results. The book also presents an accurate description and evaluation of the late Justice Scalia's jurisprudence and shows how he failed to practice the originalism method that he preached. This illuminating work will be of interest to lawyers, law students, undergraduates studying the Court, law professors and anyone else interested in an honest discussion and evaluation of originalism as a theory of constitutional interpretation, a political weapon, and an article of faith.
Estimates of patent rents from firm market value

Abstract The value of patent rents is an important quantity for policy analysis. However, estimates in the literature based on patent renewals might be understated. Market value regressions could provide validation, but they have not had clear theoretical foundations for estimating patent rents. I develop a simple model to make upper-bound estimates of patent rents using regressions on Tobin's Q . I test this on a sample of US firms and find it robust to a variety of considerations. Estimates from market value regressions correspond well with estimates based on patentee behavior generally, but renewal estimates might be understated for pharmaceuticals.
Antitrust in the Internet Era: The Legacy of United States v. A&P

Critics from both the right and the left claim that modern antitrust doctrine, rooted in consumer welfare, is inadequate to handle the challenges of the twenty-first century economy. They express nostalgia for 1960s antitrust, when the field had no clear objectives and cases were decided on impressionistic notions of “fairness” and good corporate citizenship. This article exposes the intellectual void at the heart of this new populist movement and begins by following Justice Holmes’ tenet that “a page of history is worth a volume of logic.” More than 80 years ago, the AP then “big box” brick-and-mortar stores; and now online retailers—have challenged traditional retail models by offering consumers lower prices and greater convenience. For decades, critics across the political spectrum have reacted to such disruption by urging Congress, the courts, and the enforcement agencies to stop these American success stories by revising antitrust doctrine to protect small businesses rather than the interests of consumers. Using antitrust law to punish pro-competitive behavior makes no more sense today than it did when the government attacked A&P for offering consumers too good a deal on groceries. In addition, antitrust doctrine does not need an overhaul. It is shaped by many economic perspectives, follows no one “School,” and is flexible enough to address any monopoly abuses in today’s economy. It is also well-calibrated to serve its central function: promoting consumer welfare. It does so not only by prohibiting conduct that harms consumers in the long run, but also by avoiding interference with conduct that might appear problematic to non-economists but that demonstrably benefits consumers over time. Antitrust remains a work in progress, but it is far superior to any alternative that the critics propose.
Does FIN 48 Improve Firms' Estimates of Tax Reserves?

This paper examines whether the increased accounting guidance and reporting requirements of FIN 48 impact the adequacy and accuracy of tax reserves and the effect of auditor-provided tax services on tax reserves. While we do not find FIN 48 affected the adequacy or accuracy of tax reserves on average, FIN 48 eliminated the differences in the tax reserve adequacy of firms with and without auditor-provided tax services that existed prior to its adoption. We also find evidence of less premature releasing of tax reserves post-FIN 48. Our evidence is consistent with an increase in the comparability of reserves for firms that do and do not purchase auditor-provided tax services, consistent with one of the FASB's objectives for FIN 48.
NGOization, Foreign Funding, and the Nicaraguan Civil Society

A substantial section of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the global South depend on foreign funds to conduct their operations. This paper explores how the availability of foreign funding affects their downward accountability, abilities to effect social change, and their relative influence in relation to traditional grassroots, membership-based organizations (GROs), which tend not to receive such funding. Drawing on a case study of Nicaragua, we challenge the notion that foreign funding of domestic NGOs leads to the evolution of civil society organizations, which have incentives and abilities to organize the marginalized sections of society in ways to effect social change in their interests. Instead, we find that foreign funding and corresponding professionalization of the NGO sector creates dualism among domestic civil society organizations. Foreign funding enhances the visibility and prestige of the “modern” NGO sector over traditional GROs. This has grave policy implications because foreign-funded NGOs tend to be more accountable to donors than beneficiaries and are more focused on service delivery than social change-oriented advocacy.