Property as an economic concept: Reconciling legal and economic conceptions of property rights in a Coasean framework

Adopting a simplistic view of Coase (1960), most economic analyses of property rightsdisregard both the key advantage that legal property rights (that is, in rem rights) provide torightholders in terms of enhanced enforcement, and the difficulties they pose to acquirers interms of information asymmetry about legal title. Consequently, these analyses tend to overstatethe role of "private ordering" and disregard the two key elements of property law: first, theessential conflict between property (that is, in rem) enforcement and transaction costs; and,second, the institutional solutions created to overcome it, mainly contractual registries capable ofmaking truly impersonal (that is, asset-based) trade viable when previous relevant transactionson the same assets are not verifiable by judges. This paper fills this gap by reinterpreting bothelements within the Coasean framework and thus redrawing the institutional foundations of bothproperty and corporate contracting.

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, The "Right-to-Cancel" Law - Know Your Rights!, May 2006

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: The "Right-to-Cancel" Law - Know Your Rights!

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, "Lemon Law" -- Know Your Rights!, February 2003

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Iowa's "Lemon Law" -- Know Your Rights!

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Fair Debt Collection: Know Your Rights, March 2007

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Fair Debt Collection: Know Your Rights

Successful Interviewing Guide, September 2007

Most employers want to treat job applicants fairly and without prejudice. All employers want to hire the most qualified person for the job. Both goals can be met when the employer is versed in effective techniques for interviewing job applicants. In regard to fairness, it’s easy to recite the reasons why fair and effective interviewing can ometimes seem elusive. Laws and regulations, and their interpretation by courts and egulators, are constantly changing. A quick review of the “Do's and Don’ts” of equal employment opportunity interviewing appears at the end of this booklet, and is titled, “Summary Guide to Pre-Employment Inquiries.” Consistent with the guide’s placement at the close of this booklet, it is most effectively used after reading the more detailed material preceding it. The thought provoking questions on pages 4 and 5 examine the applicant’s qualifications, work attitudes, and career plans. They will help the interviewer discover the most qualified person for the job. The “Successful Interviewing Guide” was developed by Iowa Workforce Development based on information provided by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agencies charged with enforcing discrimination laws.

Contractual allocation of decision rights and incentives: The case of automobile distribution

We analyze empirically the allocation of rights and monetary incentives in automobile franchise contracts. These contracts substantially restrict the decision rights of dealers and grant manufacturers extensive contractual completion and enforcement powers, converting the manufacturers, de facto, in a sort of quasi-judiciary instance. Variation in the allocation of decision rights andincentive intensity is explained by the incidence of moral hazard in the relation. In particular, when the cost of dealer moral hazard is higher and the risk of manufactureropportunism is lower, manufacturers enjoy more discretion in determining the performance required from their dealers and in using mechanisms such as monitoring, termination and monetary incentives to ensure such performance is provided. We also explore the existence of interdependencies between the different elements of the system. and find some complementarities between completion and termination rights, and between monitoring rights and the intensity of incentives.

Report on the Iowa Department of Human Rights for the year ended June 30, 2007

Report on the Iowa Department of Human Rights for the year ended June 30, 2007

Report on the Iowa State Civil Rights Commission for the year ended June 30, 2007

Report on the Iowa State Civil Rights Commission for the year ended June 30, 2007

Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Agency Performance Plan and Action Plan, 2006

Annual Report, Agency Performance plan

Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Agency Performance Plan and Action Plan, 2007

Annual Report, Agency Performance plan

Women, Work and the Iowa Economy, September 2008

Women play a substantial and crucial role in the Iowa economy. Women make up almost half the labor force, participating in the labor force at one of the highest rates in the nation. At the same time, disparities persist as to women’s prospects for success in that same economy. For instance, although women in Iowa are more likely than men to receive post-secondary education, they are also more likely to be in poverty and to earn a lower wage than male peers. The “gender gap,” the difference between male and female wages, is a much-discussed but often misunderstood tool that helps measure women’s success in the workforce. Women’s median wages are lower than men’s median wages largely because of differences in male and female occupations and work history, although gender discrimination in the workforce also plays a role. This report investigates Iowa’s gender gap in ways that clearly show both its causes and effects and suggests policy responses that could ensure women’s full and equal participation in Iowa’s economic future. Understanding the differences between men’s and women’s experiences in the state economy is important for developing policies that can effectively address barriers to economic success for all Iowans.

Iowa Civil Rights Commission Performance Plan, FY 2009

Agency Performance Plan, Iowa Civil Rights Commission