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Inter-temporal Scope and the Synergy Life Cycle
No full textWe investigate intertemporal scope in acquisitions. The intertemporal scope entails the redeployment of a capability that has been used up and then reactivated. The capability we examine is a commercial bank\u27s ability to restructure troubled debt. We study the capability\u27s redeployment when capable acquirers buy target banks with a high percentage of bad loans. We argue that smaller banks are more able to redeploy the capability because their smaller size facilitates retrieving the knowledge underlying it. Also, a capable acquirer\u27s improvement in the target\u27s debt should follow a synergy life cycle as the target\u27s bad loans are restructured. Using a triple-differences (DDD) methodology, we find support for our hypotheses and discuss their relevance to research on intertemporal scope and the synergy life cycle
The Role and Impact of Forensic Evidence in the Prosecution of Homicide Cases in the U.S.
No full textThe role of forensic evidence in the criminal justice process is an important topic that is significant from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The present study is dedicated to a critical analysis of the role of this evidence in the U.S. criminal justice process with a focus on its significance in homicide cases. Specifically, this dissertation examines the implications of using DNA and fingerprint evidence for convictions in U.S. homicide cases by analyzing the role of DNA and fingerprint evidence in the prosecution of “hot” and “cold” homicide cases, discussing the main ways in which forensic evidence assists with prosecuting criminal cases, and identifying significant challenges associated with the use of DNA and fingerprint evidence in homicide investigations. The researcher adopted the method of qualitative content analysis to analyze various criminal cases (n=54), mostly homicides. Examination of secondary data on the legal and ethical aspects of using DNA and fingerprint evidence evaluated challenges associated with DNA and fingerprint analysis techniques, advancement of DNA databases, and other topics relevant to the research problem. The results of the study suggest that DNA and fingerprint evidence play a substantial role in investigating and prosecuting homicides and other crimes in the U.S. At the same time, the link between their use and the likelihood of reaching an accurate verdict is not straightforward for several reasons, such as the exoneration of the innocent based on the results of DNA analysis, inadmissibility issues, and the value for money factor. DNA evidence was found to be much more significant in cold cases than in open homicide investigations still actively pursued, since advanced techniques like familial DNA analysis can locate suspects and link them to crime scenes. The role of DNA and fingerprint evidence in the criminal justice process is multifaceted and ranges from corroborating other types of evidence to serving as the main vehicle of the investigative process. Monetary efficiency factors have been specifically identified as a ii critical issue related to the research problem. Due to the high costs of most advanced DNA analysis techniques, their use is reserved for high-profile cases. In addition, while ethics and reliability concerns are not among the key barriers to the utilization of DNA and fingerprint evidence, admissibility issues often prevent prosecutors from using this evidence to reach a guilty verdict. The results of the study provide a set of avenues for future research and a series of practical recommendations for optimizing the use of DNA and fingerprint evidence in the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases in the U.S. A comparative analysis of Sharia law as implemented in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasizes significant legal and procedural differences from the U.S
Air Strikes in Myanmar - An Analysis Under International Law
No full textSince the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the reignited Israel-Palestine conflict in 2023, international law regulating the use of air power has been put to the test. The use of air strikes in civilian areas has put this shortcoming at the forefront of conversation about the use of force, and what constitutes a war crime in modern conflict.
This conversation has centered around the two aforementioned conflicts but has left other international disputes out of the discussion. In particular the civil war in Myanmar, a bloody conflict which follows decades of ethnic violence, political stratification, and a successful coup d’etat in 2021. The military junta governing Myanmar, known as the “State Administration Council,” has oft-utilized deadly airstrikes in its war against the exiled government forces, a coalition of ethnic groups and political minorities and an exiled parliamentary force known as the “National Unity Government.”
This conflict has received little scholarly attention, and no legal analysis has been done on the State Administration Council’s use of force against civilian and military targets. This article argues that the State Administration Council’s use of air strikes is likely in violation of current international law but that the framework of international law should be modernized to reflect the changing nature of conflict
The Implications of Resale Channels in the Apparel Industry
No full textThere is widespread perception that resale platforms that allow consumers to buy and sell used apparel play an important role in reducing production and waste. Many consumers possess clothes that they rarely use because their individual utility has eroded, due to changes in fit or personal tastes. Nearly all existing resale channels, both those operated by branded apparel manufacturers and those that operate independently, promote themselves as helping to get clothes out of closets or landfills by finding new homes for them. While resale channels seem well-positioned to transfer products from consumers who no longer value them highly to those who do, whether they will necessarily benefit branded apparel manufacturers, or reduce the quantity of new units produced are open questions. We develop a game-theoretic infinite-horizon model in which a brand chooses production and pricing while interacting with resale channels. We first consider brand-operated resale and show that resale increases the quantity of new units only when it is also socially efficient. We then consider the impact of a third-party resale channel on a brand that does not operate its own. In this case, the brand never benefits from resale, and the possibility of resale increases output of new units for a range of intermediate transaction costs for which this is not socially efficient. Finally, we extend the analysis to competitive resale markets. While competition can replicate brand-controlled outcomes, it can also exacerbate overproduction for a range of intermediate transaction costs. Our results demonstrate that resale channels are not uniformly beneficial, especially when operated by third-parties. Without well-structured relationships between brands and resale platforms or clear policies about which products a resale platform will trade, resale may encourage overproduction. This insight should inform decisions made by brands, resale platforms, and regulators
Essays in Immigration Economics and Immigrant Location Choice
No full textAcross the chapters of this dissertation, I analyze the drivers of immigrant location choice in host countries. I specifically contrast the sorting patterns of refugee and nonrefugee immigrants, and explore how the influence of ethnic networks, economic conditions, and other host-country and origin-country characteristics contribute to the distinct location choices observed across these groups. Prior research suggests that immigrants are drawn to both economic fundamentals and ethnic networks. However, places that have good fundamentals–in terms of employment, wages, and desirable house prices–often have disproportionately large ethnic networks, making it difficult to disentangle the contributions of economic fundamentals and ethnic networks in driving immigrant location choices. In the first chapter of my dissertation, I exploit variation in ethnic networks and economic conditions arising from the allocation of refugees by resettlement agencies, which creates geographically dispersed ethnic networks and substantial cross-variation between ethnic networks and economic fundamentals. I then track refugee secondary migration to estimate the relative importance of ethnic networks and economic fundamentals in determining refugees’ relocation decisions. I find that refugee secondary migration responds strongly to co-ethnic networks and, surprisingly, tends to flow toward cities with lower employment and wages after accounting for ethnic networks. These findings contrast with previous studies which find disproportionately large immigrant inflows to high-wage, high-cost cities. While the first chapter contrasts the role of ethnic networks and economic fundamentals more broadly, the second chapter of my dissertation studies the relative importance of two distinct economic factors, employment opportunities and house prices, for refugees and nonrefugee immigrant groups. While existing research generally concludes that immigrants are primarily motivated by employment and wage characteristics of locations, it often fails to distinguish between refugees and non-refugee immigrants–groups that face distinct migration contexts and may exhibit systematically different sorting patterns upon arrival. I study the relocation decisions of refugees in the US in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008-9, which saw house prices plummet and employment fall throughout the country. I reproduce earlier findings showing Mexican immigrants relocating to cities with relatively strong labor markets. Contrastingly, I find that refugees’ relocation decisions were largely motivated by relative house price declines across cities rather than favorable employment opportunities. The effect is substantial–a 10 percent disproportionate decline in city house prices relative to the mean decline across cities is associated with a 13 percent disproportionate rise in the refugee population of the city. While seemingly at odds with the existing literature, I propose a mechanism to reconcile these differences based on the strength of ties to the home country of different immigrant groups
The Texas Two-Step: Rewriting the Rules in the Battle for Corporate Domicile
No full textThis paper examines the evolution of jurisdictional dominance in corporate chartering, tracing the pivotal transition from New Jersey to Delaware and its relevance to the emerging challenge of Texas today. In the early twentieth century, Delaware seized corporate supremacy by offering a permissive legal code, a stable statutory regime, and a specialized Court of Chancery—laying the institutional foundation for a century of dominance in corporate law.Today, Texas is executing its own strategic “two-step”: combining legislative reform with the creation of a specialized Business Court to directly compete with Delaware’s model. Through Senate Bill 29 and House Bill 15, Texas has codified robust director protections, reformed shareholder litigation procedures, and established a dedicated forum for complex business disputes designed to deliver efficiency and legal sophistication.Crucially, Texas\u27s early business court decisions, including the landmark ruling in Primexx Energy Opportunity Fund, LP v. Primexx Energy Corp., provide compelling proof of concept. In Primexx, the Texas Business Court decisively upheld contractual freedom within the statutory framework of the Texas Business Organizations Code, signaling the court\u27s commitment to enforce negotiated agreements swiftly and predictably.By analyzing historical precedent, legislative innovation, and emerging case law, this article argues that Texas is not merely positioning itself to compete—but may soon disrupt Delaware’s preeminence in corporate governance. Success will depend on more than statutory reform: it requires sustained investment in judicial expertise, procedural predictability, and institutional credibility, which historically proved decisive in Delaware’s ascent. In doing so, this paper offers a dynamic framework for understanding corporate jurisdictional competition in the modern era
