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Louis Kaplow & Steven Shavell, Comment, Do Liability Rules Facilitate Bargaining? A Reply to Ayres and Talley, 105 Yale L.J. 221 (1995).


Abstract: Arguments that liability rules are preferable to property rules when bargaining is imperfect are flawed because of the uncertain influence of information-forcing on the bargaining process. Examples advanced in support of the preferability of liability rules are based on examples that appear to support the opposite conclusion that property rules will result in better outcomes. Imperfect bargaining is likely to do better under a liability scheme because bargaining may fail and if it fails liability rules are preferable.