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James M. Anderson

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Behavioral and Social Scientist; Affiliated Faculty, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Pittsburgh Office

Education

J.D., Yale Law School; B.A. in ethics, politics, and economics, Yale College

Overview

Biography

James Anderson is a behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation and a member of the faculty at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His current research focuses primarily on civil and criminal law. He is working on projects on the appropriate role for the criminal law in regulating business conduct, improving the use of forensic evidence, and measuring the effect of land-use regulation on crime. Among other topics, Anderson has published on the indeterminacy of the economic analysis of tort law, a retrospective on no-fault automobile insurance, and a project on the liability implications of autonomous vehicles. Before joining RAND, he practiced law for ten years. Anderson received a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. in ethics, politics, and economics from Yale University.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

How Much Difference Does a Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes
How Much Should Judges be Paid? An Empirical Study on the Effect of Judicial Pay
Innovations in the Provision of Legal Services in the United States: An Overview for Policymakers
Developing Regulations for Autonomous Vehicles
Improving the Production and Use of Forensic Science

Selected Publications

James Anderson and Paul Heaton, "How Much Difference Does the Lawyer Make? The Effect of Defense Counsel on Murder Case Outcomes," Yale Law Journal, 122:154, 2012

James Anderson and Eric Helland, "How Much Should Judges be Paid? An Empirical Study on the Effect of Judicial Pay on the State Bench," Stanford Law Review, 64(5):1277, 2012

Nicholas M. Pace, Greg Ridgeway, James M. Anderson, Cha-Chi Fan, Mariana Horta, Case Weights for Federal Defender Organizations, RAND (TR-1007-AOUSC), 2011

James M. Anderson, Paul Heaton, Stephen J. Carroll, The U.S. Experience with No-Fault Automobile Insurance, RAND (MG-860-ICJ), 2010

Stephen J. Carroll, Lloyd Dixon, James M. Anderson, Thor Hogan, Elizabeth M. Sloss, The Abuse of Medical Diagnostic Practices in Mass Litigation -- The Case of Silica, RAND (TR-774-ICJ), 2009

James Anderson, "The Missing Theory of Variable Selection in the Economic Analysis of Tort Law," Utah Law Review, 2007:255, 2007

James Anderson, Jeffrey Kling, & Kate Stith, "Measuring Interjudge Sentencing Disparity: Before and After the Federal Sentencing Guidelines," Journal of Law & Economics, 42:271, 1999