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Dishonesty and Libel Law: The Economics of the "Chilling" Effect

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  • Nuno Garoupa

Abstract

In this paper we primarily address the implications of the tort of defamation for the potential "chilling" effect by which the media are discouraged from exposing economic and political misdeeds. We argue that, in general, both the sanction for dishonesty and the compensation for defamation should not be too high. In terms of the model presented, the evidence seems to indicate that increasing the plaintiff's probability of winning is not a problem if the media are able to distinguish honesty from dishonesty (even if imperfectly), whereas it becomes welfare diminishing when that is not possible.

Suggested Citation

  • Nuno Garoupa, 1999. "Dishonesty and Libel Law: The Economics of the "Chilling" Effect," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 155(2), pages 284-284, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:sici:0932-4569(199906)155:2_284:dallte_2.0.tx_2-1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Garoupa, Nuno, 1999. "The economics of political dishonesty and defamation," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 167-180, June.
    2. Bignon, Vincent & Flandreau, Marc, 2011. "The Economics of Badmouthing: Libel Law and the Underworld of the Financial Press in France Before World War I," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 616-653, September.
    3. Daniel Sutter, 2006. "Media scrutiny and the quality of public officials," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 25-40, October.
    4. Baum Ido & Feess Eberhard & Wohlschlegel Ansgar, 2009. "Reporter's Privilege and Incentives to Leak," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 701-715, November.
    5. Gratton, Gabriele, 2015. "The sound of silence: Political accountability and libel law," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 266-279.
    6. Kaushik Basu, 2016. "Beyond the Invisible Hand: Groundwork for a New Economics," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9299.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior

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