DOCSLIB.ORG

Forrest the Politician: 1890-1918 - an Assessment

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Forrest the Politician: 1890-1918 - an Assessment 12 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society 13 FORREST THE POLITICIAN: 1890-1918 - AN ASSESSMENT by Frank Crowley Forrest was an early and powerful example of a phenomenon which came to be a central feature of Australian government and politics. As Premier of Western Australia from 1890 to 1901 hewas anableandconstructive user of state power in a society structured on a Capitalist economy. Like the roads­ and-bridges politicians ofotherAustralian colonies, hedeveloped a successful political style as a broker among sectional andregional groups competing for new public services or social andindustrial reforms, and hedistributed public works in the expectation of receiving electoral support. Unlike mostof them, hesupported such political devices as plural voting, rurally-weighted electoral systems, and lengthy residential requirements for registered voters, so as to prevent Parliament being swamped by itinerant gold-miners and other transients. But hewas also an energetic constructor ofgovernment departments andstate bureaux; a pioneering architect ofstatebanking; andan instigator ofstateloan­ financed andstate-administered railways, telegraphs, telephones, waterworks, harbours, hospitals and schools. Throughout hispremiership he developed a code of public ethics which allowed state power to aid private enterprise for general community benefit in the national interest. This promoted the emergence of a vital amalgam between private enterprise and state power. In 1890 the British Parliament approved ofa constitution for the colony of Western Australia, which established a locally-elected Parliament and a political cabinet responsible for itsactions toParliament, and nottotheminister incharge ofthecolonies inLondon. The Governor, representing theQueen, was expected toinform London ifthecabinet was dealing with matters which affected British interests or were the concern ofthe British Empire as a whole. John Forrest, Surveyor-General intheprevious administration, was elected unopposed as the first member for the electorate of Bunbury in the new Legislative Assembly, and became thecolony's first Premier andprofessional politician. After 27years asa surveyor and public servant, heembarked ona 28-year career asa politician, Sir John and Lady Forrest comprising ten years as Premier and Treasurer of the colony of Western Australia, andeighteen years asa federal politician representing theelectorate ofSwan in the state of Western Australia in the House of Representatives. Forrest was then 43years ofage, over 6 feet inheight, andweighed 16stone. He had been born inthecolony, andwas married toa daughter oftheHamersley family. He hadnochildren, butmany nephews andnieces. Outgoing and good­ naturedly blunt, he liked to work as much as possible 'in the light ofday'. But 14 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society Forrest The Politician 15 he was not a good public speaker, was slow to see the point of an argument their own brand-new constitution work. Shortly after thedelegates returned to or even a joke, and had a limited senseof humour. He had the reputation of Perth, Governor Robinson andthe British government arranged for Forrest to being straightforward and honest in dealing with public matters, and was an be knighted for his services to the colony. experienced administrator and proven leader. He was sensitive about his personal Forrest's public works programme and his financial policy as Colonial integrity andquick to respond to any suggestion of personal impropriety. He Treasurer were based on two assumptions, namely, that the government's was not a good parliamentary debater, not skilled at repartee, and delivered running expenses could bemetfrom current income, and thathisgovernment's hismain speeches with dogged persistence, disliking interruptions. But heknew high credit-rating in the London financial market would enable him to raise intimately allthe settled districts ofthe colony, much aboutthe uninhabited loans from private British investors inorder to develop theeconomic resources regions, andwas known toalmost everybody inthecolony. He had bought land and increase the population ofhissparsely settled colony. Income from Crown in Perth and elsewhere, he was a partner in several pastoral stations, andhe land leases and sales, railway freight charges, and high tariffs onimported goods, and his wife lived ina large residence incentral Perth which his wife had inherited many of which were the foodstuffs and equipment needed on the goldfields, from her father. He was well offand his brother, Alexander, was one ofthe would enable the government to pay its public servants and the interest due wealthiest men in the West. annually on overseas loans. A sinking fund provided for the long-term The Premier andthe otherfour cabinet ministers were the only members of redemption ofloans, butasfresh loans were added frequently, total indebtedness Parliament to receive salaries. Forrest chose as hisfirst colleagues Septimus was bequeathed to a latergeneration ofWestern Australians. Forrest liked to Burt, anoldschool friend, George Shenton andHarry Venn - two brothers-in­ claim thathehad not increased thetaxation onthepeople. This was misleading. law, and William Marmion. Western Australia's first government consisted of What he meant was thathehad not imposed direct taxation on land or incomes, a good representative mix - a surveyor, a lawyer, a pastoralist and two tobothofwhich he was strongly opposed, andthat so long as the population merchants; three Anglicans, oneWesleyan and oneCatholic, Forrest appointed, and the revenue both continued to increase, thenthe percapita burden would as the Under-Secretary, Octavius Burt, another school friend, and as the not. However, hedid reduce some customs duties, andheadded anexcise duty Premier's secretary, Fred North, hiswife's sister's husband. Forrest saw himself on beer, probate duties and company dividend taxation. His success asTreasurer as first andforemost the Premier ofWestern Australia, the senior minister in in balancing the current account, and spending large sumson public works, the government, and as combining intothe one office the functions of both was made possible by the good fortune of a constantly-rising consuming Governor andColonial Secretary under the previous system of Crown colony population, a burgeoning gold-mining industry, andan inflow ofoverseas and government. He was Treasurer throughout hispremiership and also held the inter-colonial capital. new ministerial position of Colonial Secretary for several years. Forrest's development programme to popularise farming pre-dated thegold Parliament metfor itsfirst session inJanuary 1891 andendorsed inprinciple boom ofthemid-1890s. As thechild ofhomesteading parents, andasa surveyor Forrest's proposal to develop the colony by means of public works financed working inthevirgin bush andunused pastoral lands ofWestern Australia, he bythesale ofgovernment bonds inLondon. Parliament also appointed delegates was convinced that the family farm was, and always would be, the backbone to the Federation Convention, which was to meet in Sydney in March 1891, ofthe colony's economy. As Surveyor-General he had encouraged landless and which framed the first draft of the proposed constitution of the working men to take up blocks of land in surveyed areasso as to establish a Commonwealth ofAustralia. Forrest andtheotherWestern Australians acted class ofself-reliant andindustrious peasant proprietors. As Premier heopened independently as delegates, listened more than they spoke, anddid notcommit up new farming districts under theeasy-payment provisions ofhisHomesteads their colony to any role except as a participant in the discussion of common Act, and advanced money to homesteaders who improved their properties under problems. They were keenly aware that theirindependence ofLondon inlocal the provisions of hisAgricultural Bank Act, which was the first of its kind in matters was barely three months old, andthatthequestion ofanAustralia-wide Australia - 'hanging outthethree balls atthetreasury', hiscritics complained. federation, involving thecreation ofa new national government andtheremoval What we need', hesaid, is'a bold peasantry, their country's pride, men ofsmall oftariff barriers between thecolonies, hadnotbeen considered bytheir voters. means but strong arms and stout hearts'. Indeed, Forrest's ideal colonist Italmost looked as though they were being asked to exchange the dominion corresponded tohis actual constituent intheBunbury electorate, where his father ofSydney and Melbourne for the tutelage of London. Besides, the abolition and mother lived on the family farm at Picton. He followed these stepsin his ofcustoms revenue, which was a main source of government income, would programme with government involvement in the clearing of land before have bankrupted theWestern Australian Treasury. Forrest andhisco-delegates settlement; a new scheme for the conditional purchase of Crown land; the therefore decided towait andseewhat theother colonies intended doing before repurchase of land from private owners; and the provision of small working' taking stepsto join them. Besides, they wanted to get back home and make mens' blocks. Theeastern goldfields water scheme, designed also to open up 16 The Royal Western Australian Historical Society Forrest The Politician 1 7 theland between theAvon Valley andthegoldfields, crossed thecentre ofwhat two west-east overland crossings in 1870 and 1874, so hisdream camecloser was to be Western
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Parliamentary, Presidential and Semi-Presidential Democracies Democracies Are Often Classified According to the Form of Government That They Have
    Parliamentary, Presidential and Semi-Presidential Democracies Democracies are often classified according to the form of government that they have: • Parliamentary • Presidential • Semi-Presidential Legislative responsibility refers to a situation in which a legislative majority has the constitutional power to remove a government from office without cause. A vote of confidence is initiated by the government { the government must resign if it fails to obtain a legislative majority. A vote of no confidence is initiated by the legislature { the government must resign if it fails to obtain a legislative majority. A constructive vote of no confidence must indicate who will replace the government if the incumbent loses a vote of no confidence. A vote of no confidence is initiated by the legislature { the government must resign if it fails to obtain a legislative majority. A constructive vote of no confidence must indicate who will replace the government if the incumbent loses a vote of no confidence. A vote of confidence is initiated by the government { the government must resign if it fails to obtain a legislative majority. The defining feature of presidential democracies is that they do not have legislative responsibility. • US Government Shutdown, click here In contrast, parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies both have legislative responsibility. • PM Question Time (UK), click here In addition to legislative responsibility, semi-presidential democracies also have a head of state who is popularly elected for a fixed term. A head of state is popularly elected if she is elected through a process where voters either (i) cast a ballot directly for a candidate or (ii) they cast ballots to elect an electoral college, whose sole purpose is to elect the head of state.
    [Show full text]
  • Ujjal Dosanjh: B.C.'S Indian-Born Premier
    Contents Ujjal Dosanjh: B.C.'s Indian-Born Premier In an attempt to hang onto power and to stage a comeback in the court of public opinion after the resignation of Glen Clark, the beleaguered NDP government of British Columbia picks Ujjal Dosanjh as party leader and premier. The former attorney general of the province was selected following a process that itself was not without controversy. As a Canadian pioneer, Dosanjh becomes the first Indian-born head of government in Canada. A role model as well, the new premier has traveled far to a nation that early in the 1900s restricted Indian immigration by an order-in-council. Ironically, Dosanjh, no stranger to controversy and personal struggle, is the grandson of a revolutionary who was jailed by the British during India s fight for independence. Introduction The Ethnic Question A Troublesome Inheritance An Experiential Education The Visible Majority Multiculturalism in Canada Racial History in Canada Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions Comprehensive News in Review Study Modules Using both the print and non-print material from various issues of News in Review, teachers and students can create comprehensive, thematic modules that are excellent for research purposes, independent assignments, and small group study. We recommend the stories indicated below for the universal issues they represent and for the archival and historic material they contain. Vander Zalm: A Question of Accountability, May 1991 Glen Clark: Mandate Squandered? October 1999 Other Related Videos Available from CBC Learning Does Your Resource Collection Include These CBC Videos? Skin Deep: The Science of Race Who Is A Real Canadian? Introduction Ujjal Dosanjh: B.C.'s Indian-Born Premier On February 19, 2000, political history was made in British Columbia when the New Democratic Party chose Ujjal Dosanjh to be its new leader, and as a result, for the first time in Canada, an Indo-Canadian became head of government in a provincial legislature.
    [Show full text]
  • Presidential Or Parliamentary Does It Make a Difference? Juan J. Linz
    VrA Democracy: Presidential or Parliamentary Does it Make a Difference? Juan J. Linz Pelatiah Pert Professor of Political and Social Sciences Yale University July 1985 Paper prepared for the project, "The Role of Political Parties in the Return to Democracy in the Southern Cone," sponsored by the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the World Peace Foundation Copyright © 1985 by Juan J. Linz / INTRODUCTION In recent decades renewed efforts have been made to study and understand the variety of political democracies, but most of those analyses have focused on the patterns of political conflict and more specifically on party systems and coalition formation, in contrast to the attention of many classical writers on the institutional arrangements. With the exception of the large literature on the impact of electorul systems on the shaping of party systems generated by the early writings of Ferdinand Hermens and the classic work by Maurice Duverger, as well as the writings of Douglas Rae and Giovanni Sartori, there has been little attention paid by political scientists to the role of political institutions except in the study of particular countries. Debates about monarchy and republic, parliamentary and presidential regimes, the unitary state and federalism have receded into oblivion and not entered the current debates about the functioning of democra-ic and political institutions and practices, including their effect on the party systems. At a time when a number of countries initiate the process of writing or rewriting constitu­ tions, some of those issues should regain salience and become part of what Sartori has called "political engineering" in an effort to set the basis of democratic consolidation and stability.
    [Show full text]
  • The Boss Tactics of Matthew Stanley Quay
    A Practical Politician: The Boss Tactics of Matthew Stanley Quay William Alan Blair The Pennsylvania State University, University Park During the 1880s, the Pennsylvania Republican leadership faced and sur- vived a serious challenge. The decade opened with a national convention that engendered revolt within the Republican machine. Many of the disaffected felt oppressed by the heavy-handed rule of the Camerons. Simmering resentment boiled over in 1880 as the Camerons pushed for the nomination of Ulysses S. Grant to a third term as president.! The next year, a reform movement called the Committee of One Hundred formed in Philadelphia. By 1882, a Democrat became governor in Pennsylvania; two years later, another Democrat gained the White House. In this time of uncertainty, a politician named Matthew Stanley Quay emerged from the shadow of Simon and Don Cameron to restore the state Republican party to power and preserve the machine's dynasty. At the time, Quay also faced an uncertain political future. As secretary of the Commonwealth, he had directed state affairs while Simon Cameron, followed by his sonJ. Donald, sat in the U.S. Senate. By 1884, the fifty-one-year-old Quay had dropped out of state office and lost an election for U.S. Congress. He stood to lose even more. Simon Cameron forsook the 1884 national convention, leaving his voting proxy not with Quay but with Chris Magee, a political boss in Pitts- burgh. Many read this as a sign that Cameron had selected a new lieutenant.2 Quay received the same message. Asked to interpret Cameron's action, Quay replied, "It means a fight for self-protection and self-preservation." 3 Quay's back- ground equipped him well for such a battle.
    [Show full text]
  • Jacob Trieber: Lawyer, Politician, Judge
    University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review Volume 8 Issue 3 Article 1 1985 Jacob Trieber: Lawyer, Politician, Judge Hon. Gerald W. Heaney Follow this and additional works at: https://lawrepository.ualr.edu/lawreview Part of the Legal Biography Commons Recommended Citation Hon. Gerald W. Heaney, Jacob Trieber: Lawyer, Politician, Judge, 8 U. ARK. LITTLE ROCK L. REV. 421 (1986). Available at: https://lawrepository.ualr.edu/lawreview/vol8/iss3/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Bowen Law Repository: Scholarship & Archives. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review by an authorized editor of Bowen Law Repository: Scholarship & Archives. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK LAW JOURNAL VOLUME 8 1985-86 NUMBER 3 JACOB TRIEBER: LAWYER, POLITICIAN, JUDGE Hon. Gerald W. Heaney* PROLOGUE On July 26, 1900, President William McKinley appointed Jacob Trieber of Helena, Arkansas, to be the United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. That he deserved the appointment was conceded by Republicans and Democrats alike. He was a man of intelligence, compassion, and integrity, a brilliant lawyer with a reputa- tion for hard work, an active, committed Republican with an unequaled record of service to the party and, most of all, an Arkansan who worked on every worthwhile civic project at the state and local level. The appointment was, however, a miracle of no small proportions: he was a Prussian immigrant of modest means, with no college or law school training, a member of a two-man law firm in a small Arkansas town, and a Jew aspiring to a position that no Jew in the history of the United States had held and in a state where the Jewish voting popula- tion was minuscule.
    [Show full text]
  • NARA Writing Style Guide 2020-7-26-2021
    NARA Writing Style Guide 2020 (Last update, July 26, 2021) 1 Preface Clear writing conveys clear thought. NARA writers in all offices must strive for clear communication to explain their increasingly complex work. They write letters, memorandums, finding aids, web pages, blogs, leaflets, reports, articles, exhibit scripts, brochures, budget requests, speeches, forms, and email messages. This style guide establishes agency standards of punctuation, word usage, and grammar that will answer writers’ most common questions and will, we hope, promote clear and effective writing throughout NARA. Style changes over time and even from place to place, depending on the intended audience. These differences do not necessarily make one choice “wrong.” What is “right” is consistency within your own work and using the appropriate language and usage for your audience. The NARA Style Guide fills two needs. First, the section “Writing for Plain Language” helps us comply with the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Second, it addresses many of the questions and issues unanswered by the Government Printing Office Style Manual (GPO manual). This guide is based on the GPO manual but includes modifications that reflect current usage. The most notable difference from the GPO manual concerns the lowercasing of the word “federal” and treatment of numbers. Moving away from capitalizing “federal” is in line with the practice of several other agencies and the Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN). (See section 1.4.4.) In most cases, writers will spell out numbers under 10 and use numerals for numbers 10 and over. (See section 1.10.) The GPO manual is still NARA’s primary reference for style.
    [Show full text]
  • Working in Politics
    Working in politics If you elect to pursue a career in politics, you’ll need to learn more about your options. Here’s a good place to start. any children dream of being President of the United by States, drawn to the idea of leading the country. Colleen D. Teixeira MHowever, the President is only one of many workers who help shape our Nation through politics. Jobs in politics exist at all levels of government: local, State, and Federal. Although the President is our most prominent official, many others—some elected, some not—help to create policy. In addition to legislators and their assistants, some workers lobby public officials and others help to elect candidates. Read on to learn about jobs in politics. You’ll find out about the Colleen D. Teixeira is an economist in work of legislators, staffs of legislators, lobbyists, and consultants. the Office of Occu- There’s also information about earnings, followed by descriptions pational Statistics and Employment of the ups and downs of working in politics. After reading Projections, BLS, some suggestions for getting into politics, you’ll find additional (202) 691–5157. information about these careers. Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Summer 2008 Jobs in politics and house of representatives, that mirrors the Federal system. At the local level, legislators Jobs in politics involve many different work- compose boards of selectmen, city councils, ers. Legislators and their staffs work directly county boards, or other groups. on bills and laws. Others, such as lobbyists, Process. Legislators have similar jobs at affect the lawmaking process by working all levels of government: They enact laws and to persuade legislators to support or oppose provide oversight of the executive branch.
    [Show full text]
  • Past Governors of Tennessee 489
    PAST GOVERNORS OF TENNESSEE 489 Past Governors Of Tennessee William Blount, 1790-1795, Democrat (territorial governor). Born in North Carolina in 1749, Blount served in the Continental Congress 1783-1784 and 1786-1787. In 1790, President Washington appointed him governor of the newly formed Territory South of the River Ohio, formerly part of North Carolina. While governor, Blount was also Indian affairs superinten- dent and negotiated, among others, the Treaty of the Holston with the Cherokees. His new government faced formidable problems, intensified by conflicts created by European/Indian contact. In 1795, Blount called a constitutional convention to organize the state, and Tennessee entered the Union the next year. Blount represented the new state in the U.S. Senate, and after expulsion from that body on a conspiracy charge, served in the state Senate. He died in 1800. John Sevier, 1796-1801; 1803-1809, Democrat. Born in Virginia in 1745, Sevier as a young man was a suc- cessful merchant. Coming to a new settlement on the Holston River in 1773, he was one of the first white settlers of Tennessee. He was elected governor of the state of Franklin at the end of the Revolutionary War, and as such became the first governor in what would be Tennessee. When statehood was attained in 1796, Sevier was elected its first governor. He served six terms totaling twelve years. While governor he negoti- ated with the Indian tribes to secure additional lands for the new state and opened new roads into the area to encourage settlement. At the close of his sixth term he was elected to the state Senate, and then to Congress.
    [Show full text]
  • A Political Model of Trust
    A Political Model of Trust Marina Agranov,∗ Ran Eilat,y and Konstantin Soninz July 12, 2021 Abstract We analyze a model of political competition, in which the uninformed median voter chooses whether to follow or ignore the advice of the elite that forms endogenously to aggregate information. In equilibrium, information transmission is possible only if voters trust the elite's endorsement of potentially biased candidates. When inequality is high, the elite's informational advantage is minimized by the voters' distrust. When inequality reaches a certain threshold, the trust, and thus the information transmission, breaks down completely. Finally, the elite size and thus the extent of information aggregation depends on the amount of trust they can maintain. Keywords: trust, inequality, political economy, cheap talk, information club. JEL Classification: D72, D83. ∗Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, Caltech; [email protected]. yDeptartment of Economics, Ben-Gurion University; [email protected]. zHarris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago; [email protected]. Introduction The recent wave of populism has been often attributed to the breakdown of trust between elites and voting masses (Algan et al., 2017; Dustmann et al., 2017; Guriev and Papaiannou, 2021). Inglehart and Norris(2016) consider the 2016 Brexit vote as a rejection of the informed elite's advise. In Eichengreen(2018), the breakdown of trust results from a combination of economic insecurity and the inability of political system to address the demand for change. Guiso et al. (2018) show that populist policies that disregard long-term economic harm emerge when voters `lose faith' in the institutions and elites.1 What is, structurally, the breakdown of trust? How does trust depend on the level of inequality? Conversely, how does the elite's ability to aggregate information depends on trust? In this paper, we suggest a simple political model that relates information aggregation, inefficiency of progressive redistribution, and trust.
    [Show full text]
  • Politician-Proof Policy?'
    DESARROLLO Y SO PRIMER SEMESTRE DE 2006 Politician-Proof Policy?' James A. Robinson** Abstract In this paper I discuss the nature of the political constraints that the World Bank faces in delivering basic services to the poor. The main problem arises because the Bank has to work through domestic govern- ments which have political aims different fiom helping the poor. The conceptual approach attractive to economists and central to much re- cent thinking in the World Bank, particularly the 2004 World Develop- ment Report, is the notion of "politician proofing". Given that political incentives derail good policies, how can those policies be politician- proofed? I argue that evidence and theory suggests that such an ap- proach is ultimately futile, basically because we simply do not understand the relevant political incentives. I discuss alternative policy strategies and conclude that what is required is a much more hdamental assess- ment of what type of political equilibria deliver services to the poor. As I illustrate with the case of Botswana: once the political equilibrium is right, everythug goes right and politician proofing is redundant. * Paper prepared as a background paper to the World Bank's 2004 World Development Report. I am grateful to Ben Goldhnk, Joel Hellman, Shekhar Shah and an anonymo* referee for their suggestions and advice. ** Deparhnent of Government, Harvard University, Littauer, 1875 Cambridge St., Cambridge MA02 138; e-mail: jmbinson@gov, han,ard.edu. Resumen En este documento se discute la naturaleza de las restricciones politicas que enfrenta el Banco Mundial en la provisi6n de servicios bksicos a 10s pobres.
    [Show full text]
  • French Government Statement of Purpose
    Your Guide to the French Government Statement of Purpose The French-American Foundation is the principal non-governmental link between France and the United States at leadership levels and across the full range of the French-American relationship. The purpose of the French-American Foundation is to strengthen the French-American relationship as a vital component of the trans-Atlantic partnership. Founded in 1976, the French-American Foundation is also committed to ensuring that the French-American relationship should be vivid and relevant for the new generations that have come of age since the end of the Cold War. MAYA press www.mayapress.net - t: 212-260-5869 Cover photos: Alain Mengus. All rights reserved. Your Guide to the French Government INTRODUCTION France, a founding member of the European Union, has a population of 62.8 million (including overseas territories) and is the sixth largest economy in the world. In spring 2007, a year before the highly anticipated American presidential elections, France held its presidential and legislative elections. Elected in May 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy represents a generational shift in France’s leadership. What follows is your guide to the French government and a brief overview of the French political system. French-American Foundation 1 © Philippe Warrin – La Documentation Française © Philippe Warrin French President Nicolas Sarkozy 2 Your Guide to the French Government EXECUTIVE BRANCH France is a republic of which the U.S. President who is elected indirectly executive branch is led both by a by the Electoral College, the French President and a Prime Minister. Current President is elected directly by universal President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime suffrage for a five-year term and serves Minister François Fillon belong to the as the Head of State.
    [Show full text]
  • Bias Arbitrage
    Bias Arbitrage Amitai Aviram* Abstract The production oflaw-including the choice ofa law's subject matter, the timing of its enactment and the manner in which it is publicized and perceived by the public-is significantly driven by an extra-legal market in which politicians andprivate parties compete over the opportunity to engage in bias arbitrage. Bias arbitrage is the extraction ofprivate benefits through actions that identify and mitigate discrepancies between actual risks and the public's perception ofthe same risks. Politicians arbitrage these discrepancies by enacting laws that address the misperceived risk and contain a ''placebo effect"-a counter-bias that attempts to offset the pre-existing misperception. Ifsuccessful, politicians are able to take creditfor the change in perceived risk, while social welfare is enhanced by the elimination of deadweight loss caused by risk misperception. However, politicians must compete with privateparties such as insurers and the media, who can engage in bias arbitrage using extra-legal means. This Article analyzes methods in which parties engage in bias arbitrage and the effect of interaction between potential bias arbitrageurs on the production oflaw. * Associate Professor, University of Illinois College of Law. LL.B. (Tel-Aviv University, 1995); LL.M. (University ofChicago, 2000); J.S.D. (University ofChicago, 2003). I am grateful for invaluable comments I received from Tom Baker, Ehud Brosh, Robert Ellickson, Ehud Guttel, David Hyman, Richard McAdams, Troy Paredes, Jeffrey Rachlinski, and the participants ofthe Midwestern Law & Economics Association Annual Meeting and of the conference on Behavioral & Experimental Law & Economics hosted jointly by Hebrew University and the University ofHaifa.
    [Show full text]