ECON 265-01, Law and Economics, Fall 2008

Abstract

Law and Economics is a relatively young field, spearheaded by economists such as Posner, Landes, and Coase. It is concerned with the economic efficiency of legal rules, from criminal law to civil law to constitutional law. We will discuss the theory and history of law through the prism of economics. Those of you who have studied law before from a noneconomist's perspective should expect to relearn much of what you have already learned, as economists view the world differently. We are concerned with the incentive effects of legal rules, as economics has little to say about justice or fairness. A few general words about this course: -There is a great deal of reading in this course. You are expected to complete all the readings before the class in which they will be discussed., and to bring a copy of the assigned readings to class. The readings should be available in the class's public folder. -I will tend not to spell everything out for you. Instead, I will try to make you figure out the answers, from the readings and from your background in economics.