This edited collection addresses the major issues encountered in the calculation of economic damages to individuals in civil litigation. In federal and state courts in the United States, as well as in other nations, when one party sues another, the suing party is required not only to prove that the harm was, indeed, caused by the other party, but also to claim and demonstrate that a specified dollar value represents just compensation for the harm. Forensic economists are often called upon to evaluate, measure, and opine on the degree of economic loss that is alleged to have occurred. Aimed at both practitioners and theorists, the original articles and essays in the edited collection are written by nationally recognized and widely published forensic experts. Its strength is in showcasing theories, methods, and measurements as they differ in a variety of cases, and in its review of the forensic economics literature developed over the past thirty years. Readerswill find informative discussions of topics such as establishing earnings capacity for both adults and infants, worklife probability, personal consumption deductions, taxation as treated in federal and state courts, valuing fringe benefits, discounting theory and practice, the effects of the Affordable Care Act, the valuation of personal services, wrongful discharge, hedonics, effective communication by the expert witness, and ethical issues. The volume also covers surveys of the views of practicing forensic economists, the connection between law and forensic economics, alternatives to litigation in the form of VCF-like schedules, and key differences among nations in measuring economic damages.

Autorentext
Frank D. Tinari is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Seton Hall University, USA, where he taught for 31 years. He is the author of a college economics textbook and dozens of peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Forensic Economics, Journal of Legal Economics, Journal of Economic Education, Eastern Economic Journal, and others. He founded the Tinari Economics consultancy and has served as Principal Economist of the Sobel Tinari Economics Group. Tinari has written thousands of economic loss appraisals and testified as an expert witness in over 1,000 cases in several states, as well as in dozens of cases before the Special Master of the 911 Victim Compensation Fund. He served on the Board of the National Association of Forensic Economics and was its President from 2005 to 2006.
Contributors
Gary R. Albrecht, Albrecht Economics, USAMichael L. Brookshire, Marshall University, USAJames E. Ciecka, DePaul University, USAJoshua Congdon-Hohman, College of the Holy Cross, USAStephen M. Horner, Economic Consulting, USA
Thomas R. Ireland, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USADavid D. Jones, Economic Consulting Services, LLC, USAKurt V. Krueger, John Ward Economics, USATimothy Lanning, Formuzis, Pickersgill & Hunt, Inc., USAVictor A. Matheson, College of the Holy Cross, USAJames D. Rodgers, Pennsylvania State University, USAThomas Roney, Thomas Roney, LLC, USADavid Rosenbaum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USADavid Schap, College of the Holy Cross, USAGary R. Skoog, Legal Econometrics, Inc.Frank Slesnick, Bellarmine University, USALawrence M. Spizman, State University of New York at Oswego, USAJohn O. Ward, University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA

Inhalt

1. An Introduction to the Field of Forensic Economics.- 2. The Meaning of Earning Capacity.- 3. Evolution of Worklife Expectancy Measurement.- 4. Personal Consumption and Wrongful Death Damages.- 5. Estimating Educational Attainment and Earning Capacity of a Minor Child.- 6. Incorporating Fringe Benefits in Loss Calculations.- 7. Federal and State Income Tax Aspects in Forensic Economics; David Schap 8. Issues in Applying Discount Rates.- 9. Potential Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Loss Calculations.- 10. Challenges in Valuing Loss of Services.- 11. Issues in Employment Litigation Analysis.- 12. Differences Among State Court Jurisdictions in Damages Calculations.- 13. Forensic Economists and Their Changing Viewpoints Over Time.- 14. Hedonic Valuation Issues.- 15. Ethical Dimensions of Forensic Economics.- 16. Understanding Law as a Part of Forensic Economic Practice.- 17. Effective Communications as a Forensic Economist.- 18. Reflections on the 911 Victim Compensation Fund.- 19. Differences Among Nations in Measuring Economic Damages.