Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

1-13-2012

SSRN Discipline

Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; Social Insurance Research Network; Law & Society eJournals; Law & Society: Public Law eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; LSN Conferences & Meetings; American Law & Economics Association (ALEA); Political Science Network

Abstract

This essay develops a formal framework for selecting welfareenhancing standards of proofs It reduces the inquiry to one equation with five variables and graphs the decision space in which each standard of proof dominates The value of that exercise is demonstrated by applying the model in three contexts 1 private party litigation 2 government deprivations and 3 affirmative defenses In the first two at least the new framework guides the selection of proof standards better than existing doctrine

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