Empirical Law and Economics Price-Fixing and Bid-Rigging Cases in Japan

Maki provides an empirical analysis of law and economics by reevaluating Myrdal's value premises and Weber's separation of analysis and policy.

In modern civil society, individuals and businesses conduct economic activities through markets. The mainstream economic theory is the general equilibrium theory, which assumes a perfectly competitive market. The upshot is that transactions through competitive markets maximize the economic welfare of society, with policies such as deregulation and privatization being implemented with the backing of the law. However, in the real economy, legal transactions do not always take place, and this book analyzes price-fixing and bid-rigging cases. These cases show that there is a gap between competition philosophy and legislation. Using the real economy as data, this book conducts an empirical analysis of law and economics and illustrates issues related to the ideals of economics and the proper application of law. Accumulating empirical results will provide the means to form a healthy civil society.

A useful reference for graduate students and researchers in economics and legal research, and an interesting read for those who consider economics to be an empirical science.

Table of Contents

List of figures

List of tables

Preface

1. Where the Problem Lies: Freedom and Justice

2. Empirical Analysis of Law and Economics: On the Philosophical Foundation and Analytical Procedure

3. Case of Petroleum Product Price-Fixing and Cases Related to Damages

4. Case on Price-Fixing of Bearings and the Particular Field of Trade and Market

5. Case of Water Meter Bid-Rigging: Scattering of Winning Bids Given Changes in Contract Methods and Claiming for Damages

6. Government Bid-Rigging: Cases of the Central Procurement Office of the Defense Agency and the Hokkaido Development Agency

7. Case of Stalker Furnace Bid-Rigging: Scattered Target Prices of the Properties and High Winning Bid Rate

8. Tama District in Tokyo Bid-Rigging Case: A Bid-Rigging Case in Which the Winning Bid Was Polarized

9. Tama District Bid-Rigging Case: Compensation of Damages by Local Residents

10. Sewerage Facility Bid-Rigging Case in Tokyo: Changes in the Behavior Brought About Introducing the Announcement in Advance for Target Prices

11. Policy Theory Based on Empirical Analysis of Law and Economics

12. Conclusion of the Book

References

Legal materials

References (Books and Papers)

Atsushi Maki is Professor Emeritus at Keio University. His research focuses on the empirical analysis of consumer behavior. He published books such as Introduction to Estimating Economic Models and Poverty, Inequality and Growth in Developing Countries, and articles in several journals such as Review of Economics and Statistics, Economics Letters, and Economic Record.