bert niemeijer | Free University of Amsterdam (original) (raw)
Papers by bert niemeijer
Annali italiani di chirurgia, 1953
Institutional Competition between Common Law and Civil Law, 2014
This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long cons... more This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long considered as a paradigm of low litigation propensity. It relates this evidence to sociological changes affecting judicial supply and demand for law. Supply push and demand pull may have reinforced each other. A microanalysis of problem solving strategies of households with different “legal needs” in Dutch-British comparison explains in part the change on the demand side. Available comparative surveys of the density, quality and costs of judicial systems and their budgets across the common law/civil law divide offer some clues on the supply side. Although more in-depth analysis and additional indicators are called for, one conclusion is clear: judicial systems work at highly diverse levels of cost and quality in the civil law world as well in the common law world.
Institutional Competition between Common Law and Civil Law, 2014
This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long cons... more This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long considered as a paradigm of low litigation propensity. It relates this evidence to sociological changes affecting judicial supply and demand for law. Supply push and demand pull may have reinforced each other. A microanalysis of problem solving strategies of households with different “legal needs” in Dutch-British comparison explains in part the change on the demand side. Available comparative surveys of the density, quality and costs of judicial systems and their budgets across the common law/civil law divide offer some clues on the supply side. Although more in-depth analysis and additional indicators are called for, one conclusion is clear: judicial systems work at highly diverse levels of cost and quality in the civil law world as well in the common law world.
Government guarantees of private debt deplete equity. The depletion is greatest during periods wh... more Government guarantees of private debt deplete equity. The depletion is greatest during periods when the probability of a guarantee payoff is highest. In a setting otherwise subject to Modigliani-Miller neutrality, firms issue guaranteed debt up to the limit the government permits. Declines in asset values raise debt in relation to asset values and thus deplete equity directly, under the realistic assumption that the government is unable to enforce rules calling for marking asset values to market. Less widely recognized is that guaranteed debt creates an incentive to pay equity out to ownerssuch a payout lowers the value of the firm's call option on its assets by less than the amount of the payout. I build a simple dynamic equilibrium model of an economy that would have a constant consumption/capital ratio but for debt guarantees. Exogenous changes in asset values cause major swings in allocations as participants respond to changing incentives. Periods when default is unusually likely because asset values have fallen are times of abnormally high consumption/capital ratios. The withdrawal of equity from firms to pay for the consumption will turn out to be free on the margin if the firm defaults. Consumers concentrate their consumption during the periods when consumption is cheap. Because these periods are transitory, they generate expectations of negative consumption growth, which implies that interest rates are low. Thus guarantees generate substantial volatility throughout the economy. * This research is part of the program on Economic Fluctuations and Growth of the NBER. A file containing the calculations is available at my website.
Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health - SCAND J WORK ENVIRON HEALTH, 2010
ABSTRACT You have before you an anthology about Justice and social cohesion. This anthology is in... more ABSTRACT You have before you an anthology about Justice and social cohesion. This anthology is intended for judicial professionals who are responsible for practical implementation: from public prosecutors in the PPS to prison officers in the DJI, from child welfare investigators at the Child Protection Board to policy assistants at the IND. This book is also intended for the policymakers in these organisations and at the Ministry of Justice, as well as for the strategic top. This book will provide all of them with starting points and ideas for a cohesion-enhancing strategy (or a more cohesion-enhancing strategy) of the Ministry of Justice. The reason for making this anthology was the perseverance of the Minister and the State Secretary in their view of Justice that is not evident, namely that the Ministry of Justice should play a major role in the enhancement of social cohesion. In cooperation with others, we have critically considered this view and thought it through in detail. The result is a strategy that, if implemented as suggested, will result in increased socialisation of the Ministry of Justice and the Justice institutions. This anthology consists of three parts. If you are only interested in the starting points that are relevant to you, please read the relevant passages in Part 3. This part sets out how ‘doers’ at the Ministry of Justice (those officers who are engaged in practical implementation), but also the ‘directors’ (the strategic top), and the ‘drafters’ (the policymakers) at the Ministry of Justice could improve their contributions to social cohesion in the Netherlands. This part is partly based on interviews with colleagues and other people from different parts of the Ministry of Justice. These practical guides are based on a consideration of social cohesion as an objective for the Ministry of Justice. You will find a representation of this consideration in Part 2. With respect to the three main policy areas of the Ministry of Justice – legislation and the administration of justice, safety, and migration – we examined how these policy areas could contribute (or could contribute more substantially) to social cohesion in the Netherlands. This mental exercise took place during three round-table meetings with experts as well as the senior civil servants and administrative top of the Ministry of Justice. The discussion during each of the round-table meetings was sparked by a position paper written by a scientist: Prof. Nick Huls wrote the paper on legislation and the administration of justice; Dr. Bas van Stokkom and Dr. Jan Terpstra wrote the paper on safety; and Prof. Godfried Engbersen is responsible for the paper on migration. We recommend Part 2 for those who want to dig deeper into the consequences of social cohesion for the main policy areas of the Ministry of Justice. The enhancement of social cohesion in the Netherlands is a political objective. This objective is based on a diagnosis of what is going on in our society, but it is also founded on a theory of what it is that keeps societies together or causes them to drift apart. Part 1 is intended for those who are interested in the social, political, and theoretical backgrounds of social cohesion, and, of course, for those who wonder what social cohesion actually is, where it comes from, and what the Cabinet wants to achieve with it. This part is based on scientific literature and interviews with experts. A few remarks with respect to all three parts. Where possible, quotations from or interpretations of existing literature, the interviews conducted, and the round-table meetings have been woven through the text by way of illustration or concretisation. Highlighted from their contexts, these quotations may come across as blunt remarks, but a sharp formulation can actually further discussion about social cohesion, based on the anthology you have before you. We anonymised the quotations for this reason. In cases where a source is mentioned, exact quotations from literature are given.
Policy-makers, we presume, want to solve social problems. Therefore, they select policy measures.... more Policy-makers, we presume, want to solve social problems. Therefore, they select policy measures. In practice, these measures tend to trigger different reactions in society. How might a government avoid bad reactions, such as the tuition fees protests and ‘bedroom tax’ campaigns? Peter van Wijck and Bert Niemeijer present a conceptual framework to which looks to align the perspectives of policymakers and citizens.
Product warnings are meant to prevent damage resulting from defective products. By holding produc... more Product warnings are meant to prevent damage resulting from defective products. By holding producers liable for damages caused by a defect in their products, product liability law can contribute to prevention. Within European product liability law the European Product Liability Directive (EPLD, 85/374/EEC) determines the liability criteria. In cases of claims by consumers who suffered injuries during the use of a product, civil courts determine whether a product is defective on the basis of these criteria. One of the possible defects is the absence or inadequacy of a warning.
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2012
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2008
... A. Civil Judgments, Divided in Type of Court and Type of Procedure Van Velthoven constructed ... more ... A. Civil Judgments, Divided in Type of Court and Type of Procedure Van Velthoven constructed and analyzed time series of data, encompassing both filings and final judgments in the Netherlands, covering the period between 1951 and 1999.24 Figure 1 shows the trends in the ...
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2013
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2013
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2011
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2010
Annali italiani di chirurgia, 1953
Institutional Competition between Common Law and Civil Law, 2014
This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long cons... more This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long considered as a paradigm of low litigation propensity. It relates this evidence to sociological changes affecting judicial supply and demand for law. Supply push and demand pull may have reinforced each other. A microanalysis of problem solving strategies of households with different “legal needs” in Dutch-British comparison explains in part the change on the demand side. Available comparative surveys of the density, quality and costs of judicial systems and their budgets across the common law/civil law divide offer some clues on the supply side. Although more in-depth analysis and additional indicators are called for, one conclusion is clear: judicial systems work at highly diverse levels of cost and quality in the civil law world as well in the common law world.
Institutional Competition between Common Law and Civil Law, 2014
This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long cons... more This chapter analyses a dramatic increase in legal action in the Netherlands, a country long considered as a paradigm of low litigation propensity. It relates this evidence to sociological changes affecting judicial supply and demand for law. Supply push and demand pull may have reinforced each other. A microanalysis of problem solving strategies of households with different “legal needs” in Dutch-British comparison explains in part the change on the demand side. Available comparative surveys of the density, quality and costs of judicial systems and their budgets across the common law/civil law divide offer some clues on the supply side. Although more in-depth analysis and additional indicators are called for, one conclusion is clear: judicial systems work at highly diverse levels of cost and quality in the civil law world as well in the common law world.
Government guarantees of private debt deplete equity. The depletion is greatest during periods wh... more Government guarantees of private debt deplete equity. The depletion is greatest during periods when the probability of a guarantee payoff is highest. In a setting otherwise subject to Modigliani-Miller neutrality, firms issue guaranteed debt up to the limit the government permits. Declines in asset values raise debt in relation to asset values and thus deplete equity directly, under the realistic assumption that the government is unable to enforce rules calling for marking asset values to market. Less widely recognized is that guaranteed debt creates an incentive to pay equity out to ownerssuch a payout lowers the value of the firm's call option on its assets by less than the amount of the payout. I build a simple dynamic equilibrium model of an economy that would have a constant consumption/capital ratio but for debt guarantees. Exogenous changes in asset values cause major swings in allocations as participants respond to changing incentives. Periods when default is unusually likely because asset values have fallen are times of abnormally high consumption/capital ratios. The withdrawal of equity from firms to pay for the consumption will turn out to be free on the margin if the firm defaults. Consumers concentrate their consumption during the periods when consumption is cheap. Because these periods are transitory, they generate expectations of negative consumption growth, which implies that interest rates are low. Thus guarantees generate substantial volatility throughout the economy. * This research is part of the program on Economic Fluctuations and Growth of the NBER. A file containing the calculations is available at my website.
Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health - SCAND J WORK ENVIRON HEALTH, 2010
ABSTRACT You have before you an anthology about Justice and social cohesion. This anthology is in... more ABSTRACT You have before you an anthology about Justice and social cohesion. This anthology is intended for judicial professionals who are responsible for practical implementation: from public prosecutors in the PPS to prison officers in the DJI, from child welfare investigators at the Child Protection Board to policy assistants at the IND. This book is also intended for the policymakers in these organisations and at the Ministry of Justice, as well as for the strategic top. This book will provide all of them with starting points and ideas for a cohesion-enhancing strategy (or a more cohesion-enhancing strategy) of the Ministry of Justice. The reason for making this anthology was the perseverance of the Minister and the State Secretary in their view of Justice that is not evident, namely that the Ministry of Justice should play a major role in the enhancement of social cohesion. In cooperation with others, we have critically considered this view and thought it through in detail. The result is a strategy that, if implemented as suggested, will result in increased socialisation of the Ministry of Justice and the Justice institutions. This anthology consists of three parts. If you are only interested in the starting points that are relevant to you, please read the relevant passages in Part 3. This part sets out how ‘doers’ at the Ministry of Justice (those officers who are engaged in practical implementation), but also the ‘directors’ (the strategic top), and the ‘drafters’ (the policymakers) at the Ministry of Justice could improve their contributions to social cohesion in the Netherlands. This part is partly based on interviews with colleagues and other people from different parts of the Ministry of Justice. These practical guides are based on a consideration of social cohesion as an objective for the Ministry of Justice. You will find a representation of this consideration in Part 2. With respect to the three main policy areas of the Ministry of Justice – legislation and the administration of justice, safety, and migration – we examined how these policy areas could contribute (or could contribute more substantially) to social cohesion in the Netherlands. This mental exercise took place during three round-table meetings with experts as well as the senior civil servants and administrative top of the Ministry of Justice. The discussion during each of the round-table meetings was sparked by a position paper written by a scientist: Prof. Nick Huls wrote the paper on legislation and the administration of justice; Dr. Bas van Stokkom and Dr. Jan Terpstra wrote the paper on safety; and Prof. Godfried Engbersen is responsible for the paper on migration. We recommend Part 2 for those who want to dig deeper into the consequences of social cohesion for the main policy areas of the Ministry of Justice. The enhancement of social cohesion in the Netherlands is a political objective. This objective is based on a diagnosis of what is going on in our society, but it is also founded on a theory of what it is that keeps societies together or causes them to drift apart. Part 1 is intended for those who are interested in the social, political, and theoretical backgrounds of social cohesion, and, of course, for those who wonder what social cohesion actually is, where it comes from, and what the Cabinet wants to achieve with it. This part is based on scientific literature and interviews with experts. A few remarks with respect to all three parts. Where possible, quotations from or interpretations of existing literature, the interviews conducted, and the round-table meetings have been woven through the text by way of illustration or concretisation. Highlighted from their contexts, these quotations may come across as blunt remarks, but a sharp formulation can actually further discussion about social cohesion, based on the anthology you have before you. We anonymised the quotations for this reason. In cases where a source is mentioned, exact quotations from literature are given.
Policy-makers, we presume, want to solve social problems. Therefore, they select policy measures.... more Policy-makers, we presume, want to solve social problems. Therefore, they select policy measures. In practice, these measures tend to trigger different reactions in society. How might a government avoid bad reactions, such as the tuition fees protests and ‘bedroom tax’ campaigns? Peter van Wijck and Bert Niemeijer present a conceptual framework to which looks to align the perspectives of policymakers and citizens.
Product warnings are meant to prevent damage resulting from defective products. By holding produc... more Product warnings are meant to prevent damage resulting from defective products. By holding producers liable for damages caused by a defect in their products, product liability law can contribute to prevention. Within European product liability law the European Product Liability Directive (EPLD, 85/374/EEC) determines the liability criteria. In cases of claims by consumers who suffered injuries during the use of a product, civil courts determine whether a product is defective on the basis of these criteria. One of the possible defects is the absence or inadequacy of a warning.
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2012
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2008
... A. Civil Judgments, Divided in Type of Court and Type of Procedure Van Velthoven constructed ... more ... A. Civil Judgments, Divided in Type of Court and Type of Procedure Van Velthoven constructed and analyzed time series of data, encompassing both filings and final judgments in the Netherlands, covering the period between 1951 and 1999.24 Figure 1 shows the trends in the ...
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2013
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2013
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2011
Recht Der Werkelijkheid, 2010