ICJ Internal Symposium: Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 Compliance and Policy Issues — Nov. 19, 2009

Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 ("MMSEA") is a very timely issue of significant importance to ICJ's Board of Overseers, insurance companies, self-insured companies, and Medicare. Dennis Wallace and Bruce Margolin, Chartis Insurance's Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President, respectively, are leading their company's compliance efforts and will be visiting RAND to discuss with RAND experts the rules, regulatory intent and uncertainties associated with MMSEA. This dialogue is designed to address the implications of MMSEA and explore research opportunities.

Annual ICJ Policy Dinner featuring Special Master of Executive Compensation Kenneth R. Feinberg — Oct. 22, 2009

The annual RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) Board of Overseers Dinner featured special remarks by President Obama's appointed Special Master of Executive Compensation and ICJ Board of Overseers Chair Kenneth R. Feinberg. Mr. Feinberg joined us at the ICJ event after formally announcing that day the details of his plan relating to the executive compensation packages of top officials at the largest financial institutions receiving federal support. Mr. Feinberg spoke about his role, highlighted the main points of the Treasury Department's recently released determinations, and discussed his next steps.

Read the U.S. Department of Treasury's related press release Read the Executive Compensation Determinations for Top TARP Recipients

ICJ Welcomes New Director, James N. Dertouzos

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice is proud to announce the appointment of James N. Dertouzos to the position of ICJ Director. During his 27-year tenure at RAND, Dr. Dertouzos has led over 100 research projects and has served in a variety of management positions, including Associate Head of the Economics and Statistics Department, Associate Corporate Research Manager, Resident Scholar in Economics, and, for the past year, ICJ Acting Director. The ICJ team congratulates Dr. Dertouzos on the recent appointment and looks forward to his leadership and guidance.

Former ICJ Director, Robert T. Reville, is leading a large RAND project on mass tort litigation in collaboration with Silicon Valley-based Risk Management Solutions (RMS). He will continue to be actively involved in ICJ. ICJ thanks Dr. Reville for his years of service as Director.

Read Dr. Dertouzos's bio Read Dr. Reville's bio Read the news release

ICJ Research to be Featured at the Fourth Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies

ICJ researchers Steven Garber, Michael Greenberg, Paul Heaton, Eric Helland, Nicholas Pace, and Seth Seabury have been selected to join other leading scholars from around the world to present their empirical legal scholarship at the Fourth Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, held at the USC Gould School of Law on November 20-21, 2009.

Read more at the conference Web site

ICJ's Robert T. Reville Gives Opening Address at the Geneva Association's 6th Annual International Liability Regimes Conference

Robert T. Reville provided the opening address at the Geneva Association's 6th Annual International Liability Regimes Conference titled, "The Shifting Role of the State Relative to the Private Economy: Liability Insurance at the Fulcrum," held in Zurich on October 26-27, 2009. Dr. Reville's address, "The Crisis and Beyond: 'Litigonomics' and Its Implications," framed the discussion regarding how current economic conditions are impacting the quality and nature of litigation and liability.

Download the conference program from the Geneva Association (PDF)

UCLA School of Law and RAND Launch Empirical Legal Studies Program

The UCLA-RAND Center for Law and Public Policy has established an empirical legal scholarship program and is recruiting students eager to adopt techniques used in economics, sociology, and other social sciences to explore legal issues.

Read more at The National Law Journal (registration required)

Liability and Regulation of Autonomous Vehicle Technologies

Autonomous vehicle technologies and advanced driver-assistance systems have the potential to significantly improve transportation safety and efficiency, and, collectively, they may offer tremendous social, economic, and environmental benefits. This research is an initial step toward understanding the liability and regulatory issues that arise from the shift in responsibility for driving from the driver to the vehicle itself.

Read More at California PATH

Does Treatment Respond to Reimbursement Rates? Evidence from Trauma Care and No-Fault Insurance in Colorado

Some models of provider behavior predict that physicians, like other experts, may respond dysfunctionally to financial incentives by recommending unnecessary treatment. The authors empirically test this relationship using data from inpatient hospitalizations surrounding a 2003 Colorado auto insurance reform.

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First International Conference on Entrepreneurship Policies

Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship Public Policy partnered with The Legatum Institute and the Indian School of Business to host a path-breaking conference on the role of public policy at the central and state levels on Indian entrepreneurship. The conference titled, "Catalysts of Entrepreneurship: Policies for Growth," addressed how entrepreneurship can transform sectors such as infrastructure and education into engines of growth, and the policies needed to support this transformation.

Read more at the conference Web site

Is Employer-Based Health Insurance A Barrier To Entrepreneurship?

Using a number of new approaches, RAND researchers found that there is evidence for "entrepreneurship lock"—that the focus on employer-provided health care in the United States may prevent the creation of some new businesses.

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Substance Use Is Not the Primary Cause of Workplace Injuries, but Is a Contributing Factor

Occupational injuries are a serious public-health issue and cause significant morbidity and mortality in the United States, with direct and indirect costs extending beyond injured workers to their families, other workers, firms, and consumers. This paper explores the link between substance use and work-related accidents.

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