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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01h128nd70z
Title: Lawyers as Agents of the Devil in a Prisoner's Dilemma Game
Authors: Bloom, David
Ashenfelter, Orley
Keywords: lawyers
arbitration system
prisoner's dilemma
Issue Date: 1-Sep-1990
Series/Report no.: Working Papers (Princeton University. Industrial Relations Section) ; 270
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to explore the possibility that the costs and benefits of legal representation are structured so that each individual party seeks legal representation in the hope of exploiting the other party, while knowing full well that failing to do so will open up the possibility of being exploited. The first part of the paper shows how the structure of the incentives faced by the parties may be estimated, and the second describes the results of empirical tests in several different settings. The empirical results strongly suggest that the parties do face "prisoner's dilemma" incentives, although no attempt is made to determine whether the parties respond to these incentives.
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01h128nd70z
Appears in Collections:IRS Working Papers

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