Scientific Definition
Contingency-fee structures shape which cases get filed.
Plain-English Definition
Contingency-fee structures shape which cases get filed.
Feynman Explanation
Justice is whatever's economically rational.
Core Principle
Contingency-fee structures shape which cases get filed.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Contingency-fee structures shape which cases get filed.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Risk profiles shaped by who can afford to sue.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Justice is whatever's economically rational.
Examples
- Asymmetric small-claims litigation pressure.
- Risk profiles shaped by who can afford to sue.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Loser-pays. Pre-trial cost transparency.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Loser-pays. Pre-trial cost transparency.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Confidential settlements buy silence and prevent precedent that would deter future harm.
Charging by time rewards inefficiency and prolongs disputes.
Police agencies that keep seized assets gain a direct fiscal interest in seizures.
Fixed compliance costs scale punitively for small firms and entrench large ones.
Compliance programs designed to satisfy regulators, not prevent harm.
Stacking fines on low-income defendants creates debt traps and recidivism.
Decisions made to be defensible, not to be right.
Mandatory federal sourcing from prison factories crowds out small business and entrenches inefficient production.
Fixed sentencing rules remove judicial discretion and inflate incarceration without reducing crime.
Trial penalties pressure even innocent defendants to plead guilty to avoid risk.
Per-inmate funding makes incarceration a budgetary asset for jurisdictions and contractors.
Caseloads far above professional norms guarantee weak defense for the poor.