Time: 11:00 pm – 12:00pm
Date: 20th May 2019
Place: Room 3105.
Michael Visser – “Are Jury Decisions Interrelated? Evidence from the Labor Court of Paris”

Abstract:

This paper analyzes what are the determinants of decisions taken by juries at labor courts. These juries decide how much money defendants (employers) should pay to plaintiffs (employees), based on the claims filed by the latter and the evidence revealed during court sessions. We have compiled a new data set from archives of the labor court of Paris (le Conseil de prud’hommes de Paris) covering the period 2013-2017. Applying models frequently used in the peer-effect literature, we estimate the parameters via instrumental variables methods and maximization of a conditional likelihood function proposed by Lee (2007). Our (still preliminary) results indicate that only a few defendant-plaintiff characteristics have statistically significant impacts on the amount of compensation awarded to plaintiffs. Jury-specific effects, however, play an important role in explaining this variable. We also find that the (average) amount awarded to other plaintiffs, in the same session and by the same jury, has a strongly negative effect. Some possible explanations for this last finding are provided.

Organizers:
Alexis Larousse (CREST)
Sponsors:
CREST
Lunch registration:
no registration needed