NCJ Number
110849
Date Published
1988
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses three ways to resolve a dispute and analyzes the cost of disputing.
Abstract
Three ways are distinguished to resolve a dispute: reconciling the interests of the parties, determining who is in the right, and determining who is more powerful. The costs of disputing are analyzed in terms of transaction costs, satisfaction with outcomes, effect on relationship, and recurrence. It is argued that in general reconciling interests costs less and yields more satisfactory results than determining who is in the right, which in turn costs less and satisfies more than determining who is more powerful. (Author abstract modified)