Arbeitspapier

Manufacturer Liability for Harms Caused by Consumers to Others

This paper investigates whether manufacturers should be liable if consumers, through the use of a product, cause harm to others. If consumers have deep pockets then consumeronly liability is socially desirable. With consumer insolvency, however, consumer-only liability leads to inadequate consumer precautions, inadequate safety features, and excessive economic activity. With homogeneous insolvent consumers, the best rule is "residual-manufacturer liability" where the consumer bears primary responsibility and the manufacturer bears the shortfall in damages. When consumers' willingness-to-pay is correlated with social harm they cause then residual-manufacturer liability distorts the market quantity. When consumers differ in their wealth then residual manufacturer liability creates an inefficient cross-subsidization and an overprovision of safety features. In both cases, consumer-only liability may be preferred to residual-manufacturer liability. Applications, including gun manufacturer liability, are discussed.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: CSIO Working Paper ; No. 0042

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Thema
Produkthaftung
Theorie

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Hay, Bruce
Spier, Kathryn E.
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Northwestern University, Center for the Study of Industrial Organization (CSIO)
(wo)
Evanston, IL
(wann)
2004

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:45 MEZ

Datenpartner

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Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Hay, Bruce
  • Spier, Kathryn E.
  • Northwestern University, Center for the Study of Industrial Organization (CSIO)

Entstanden

  • 2004

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