A Guide to Posner's Economic Analysis of Law

A Guide to Posner's Economic Analysis of Law PDF

Author: Alain Marciano

Publisher:

Published: 2015-03-01

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780415820691

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The author of more than 50 books and 150 articles, Richard Posner is one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century. His sometimes controversial views are incredibly complex, but are unified by the use of economics to analyze law and legal phenomena. This book offers an innovative and highly original guide to Posner's economic analysis of law. Rather than using a traditional structure, this volume guides the reader through Posnere(tm)s ideas via a series of key themes. Each chapter includes an original introduction written by Alain Marciano and Sophie Harnay, a reprint of a text either written by Posner or about his work, and additional bibliographical references to complete the presentation of Posner's ideas. Themes covered include 9/11, CIA, Altruism, Behavioral law and economics, Capitalism, Coase, Ronald, Common law, Crisis, Darwin, Efficiency, Judicial decision making, Justice, Law and Economics, Liberalism (conservatism), Markets, Morals (law and), Pragmatism, Precedent, Public intellectuals, Rationality, and Wealth, to name just a few. In order to provide an overview of Posner's activities since the end of the 1960s, the book will include scientific articles and book chapters, newspapers, magazines articles, interviews and blog posts. This innovative approach is taken on in order to offer a truly rounded view of Posnere(tm)s work and opinions. In addition, the volume will include critical texts in order to shed light on the alleged limits of Posner's analyses and how he faced these criticisms. This guidebook will be essential reading for all those working at the intersection of law and economics.

Economic Analysis of Law

Economic Analysis of Law PDF

Author: Richard A. Posner

Publisher: Aspen Publishers

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 698

ISBN-13:

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This text for students of law and economics concentrates on the progress of scholarship in the field. Concrete applications are emphasized over abstract theory in the book.

Foundations of Economic Analysis of Law

Foundations of Economic Analysis of Law PDF

Author: Steven Shavell

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 760

ISBN-13: 0674043499

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What effects do laws have? Do individuals drive more cautiously, clear ice from sidewalks more diligently, and commit fewer crimes because of the threat of legal sanctions? Do corporations pollute less, market safer products, and obey contracts to avoid suit? And given the effects of laws, which are socially best? Such questions about the influence and desirability of laws have been investigated by legal scholars and economists in a new, rigorous, and systematic manner since the 1970s. Their approach, which is called economic, is widely considered to be intellectually compelling and to have revolutionized thinking about the law. In this book Steven Shavell provides an in-depth analysis and synthesis of the economic approach to the building blocks of our legal system, namely, property law, tort law, contract law, and criminal law. He also examines the litigation process as well as welfare economics and morality. Aimed at a broad audience, this book requires neither a legal background nor technical economics or mathematics to understand it. Because of its breadth, analytical clarity, and general accessibility, it is likely to serve as a definitive work in the economic analysis of law.

Efficiency Instead of Justice?

Efficiency Instead of Justice? PDF

Author: Klaus Mathis

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-03-18

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1402097980

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Economic analysis of law is an interesting and challenging attempt to employ the concepts and reasoning methods of modern economic theory so as to gain a deeper understanding of legal problems. According to Richard A. Posner it is the role of the law to encourage market competition and, where the market fails because transaction costs are too high, to simulate the result of competitive markets. This would maximize economic efficiency and social wealth. In this work, the lawyer and economist Klaus Mathis critically appraises Posner’s normative justification of the efficiency paradigm from the perspective of the philosophy of law. Posner acknowledges the influences of Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, whom he views as the founders of normative economics. He subscribes to Smith’s faith in the market as an ideal allocation model, and to Bentham’s ethical consequentialism. Finally, aligning himself with John Rawls’s contract theory, he seeks to legitimize his concept of wealth maximization with a consensus theory approach. In his interdisciplinary study, the author points out the possibilities as well as the limits of economic analysis of law. It provides a method of analysing the law which, while very helpful, is also rather specific. The efficiency arguments therefore need to be incorporated into a process for resolving value conflicts. In a democracy this must take place within the political decision-making process. In this clearly written work, Klaus Mathis succeeds in making even non-economists more aware of the economic aspects of the law.

The Economic Approach to Law, Second Edition

The Economic Approach to Law, Second Edition PDF

Author:

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 425

ISBN-13: 0804772657

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Designed specifically for economics students, The Economic Approach to Law, 2nd Edition, provides an introductory treatment of law and economics, revealing how economic principles explain the structure of the law, and how they can help make the law more efficient. To that end, the author focuses on unifying themes in the field--rather than exhaustively covering legal topics--and thus provides a more analytical treatment of the subject. The second edition includes current research into the economics of common law areas, such as torts, contracts, and property law. The revised text also offers a new chapter that explores how economics can be applied to anti-trust law, as well as added material on intellectual property. This edition features an expanded suite of exercises and problems at the end of each chapter to encourage students to "do" law and economics. A companion web site offers a full suite of resources for students and professors. Key pedagogical features include cases; discussion points that provide additional analysis of topics in the book; graduate notes, which deepen the text for more advanced readers; and relevant Web links. Professors have access to sample syllabi for undergraduate and graduate courses and to an instructor's manual providing suggested answers to all of the end-of-chapter questions/problems in the book.

Cost-benefit Analysis

Cost-benefit Analysis PDF

Author: Matthew D. Adler

Publisher:

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 9780226007625

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Cost-benefit analysis is a widely used governmental evaluation tool, though academics remain skeptical. This volume gathers prominent contributors from law, economics, and philosophy for discussion of cost-benefit analysis, specifically its moral foundations, applications and limitations. This new scholarly debate includes not only economists, but also contributors from philosophy, cognitive psychology, legal studies, and public policy who can further illuminate the justification and moral implications of this method and specify alternative measures. These articles originally appeared in the Journal of Legal Studies. Contributors: - Matthew D. Adler - Gary S. Becker - John Broome - Robert H. Frank - Robert W. Hahn - Lewis A. Kornhauser - Martha C. Nussbaum - Eric A. Posner - Richard A. Posner - Henry S. Richardson - Amartya Sen - Cass R. Sunstein - W. Kip Viscusi

An Introduction to Law and Economics

An Introduction to Law and Economics PDF

Author: A. Mitchell Polinsky

Publisher: Aspen Publishing

Published: 2018-07-23

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1543802885

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Distinguished by brevity, lucid writing, and well-chosen examples, An Introduction to Law and Economics, now in its Fifth Edition, focuses on a set of core topics that include property, contracts, torts, criminal law, and litigation. Avoiding specialized jargon and mathematics, Polinsky teaches students how to think like an economist and understand legal issues from an economic perspective. New to the Fifth Edition: A streamlining of the products liability chapter A revised discussion of the redistributive effects of legal rules to reflect more recent scholarship on this topic The addition of several other refinements in the text and in new footnotes An updated bibliography Professors and students will benefit from: Solid coverage of relevant economic principles A normative approach that illustrates how to assess legal rules and policies in terms of economic and social goals Clear explanations of concepts

How Judges Think

How Judges Think PDF

Author: Richard A. Posner

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2010-05-01

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0674033833

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A distinguished and experienced appellate court judge, Richard A. Posner offers in this new book a unique and, to orthodox legal thinkers, a startling perspective on how judges and justices decide cases. When conventional legal materials enable judges to ascertain the true facts of a case and apply clear pre-existing legal rules to them, Posner argues, they do so straightforwardly; that is the domain of legalist reasoning. However, in non-routine cases, the conventional materials run out and judges are on their own, navigating uncharted seas with equipment consisting of experience, emotions, and often unconscious beliefs. In doing so, they take on a legislative role, though one that is confined by internal and external constraints, such as professional ethics, opinions of respected colleagues, and limitations imposed by other branches of government on freewheeling judicial discretion. Occasional legislators, judges are motivated by political considerations in a broad and sometimes a narrow sense of that term. In that open area, most American judges are legal pragmatists. Legal pragmatism is forward-looking and policy-based. It focuses on the consequences of a decision in both the short and the long term, rather than on its antecedent logic. Legal pragmatism so understood is really just a form of ordinary practical reasoning, rather than some special kind of legal reasoning. Supreme Court justices are uniquely free from the constraints on ordinary judges and uniquely tempted to engage in legislative forms of adjudication. More than any other court, the Supreme Court is best understood as a political court.

Economic Analysis of Law in China

Economic Analysis of Law in China PDF

Author: Thomas Eger

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1847206972

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This book is an exemplary multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional study of contemporary Chinese law. A collective effort by a group of European and Chinese scholars, it skillfully tests the relationships between law and economics in the Chinese context. The China Journal This is an extremely valuable collection of essays on modern Chinese law viewed through the lens of the law and economics movement. China is developing very rapidly and law is now understood to provide the essential framework for economic development provided the law itself is economically rational. The essays in this volume are excellent examples of how economics can be used to clarify and guide the law applicable to the essential dimensions of the economy. I recommend it wholeheartedly and without reservations. Richard A. Posner, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and University of Chicago Law School, US This book brings together important applications of law and economics to China and covers a wide range of issues, including such basic concerns as property rights, intellectual property, and taxation, as well as competition law and corporate and securities law. Because of its breadth of coverage, its focus on the particulars of Chinese law, and the expertise of its scholars both Western and Chinese it should serve as a valuable reference work for years to come. Steven Shavell, Harvard Law School, US This book is an important step toward a Chinese scholarship in law and economics, written by leading law and economics researchers from China and Europe. Hans-Bernd Schaefer, Universität Hamburg, Germany In China everything is different, you cannot apply ordinary economics and the legal framework is idiosyncratic. In the course of time, such statements turned out to be prejudices, and the Eger/ Faure/ Zhang volume makes perfectly clear that, for instance, a law and economics approach can shed new light into the intricacies and complexities of Chinese institutional arrangements. Indeed, China creates new puzzles for economic and legal analysis. On the other hand, however, the Chinese need not invent the wheel anew and they do not try it. The book shows instances where a sophisticated law and economics approach can help to develop the legal framework which is appropriate for the transition from a planned into a market economy. The Chinese economic system is not (yet) a normal capitalist market economy, neither is the legal system adapted to a normal private property economy. Nevertheless the chapters of the book apply fruitfully law and economics theories and thus prove their general applicability. One of the outstanding achievements of the volume can be seen in the fact that it recruited more than half of its contributors with a Chinese background. They learn eagerly western approaches and they learn fast. And, of course, they have no problems with understanding Chinese culture and society. So the book combines most profitably the look from the outside and the look from within with a common theoretical framework. Hans-Jürgen Wagener, Europa Universität Viadrina, Germany This book comprises contributions on recent developments in China from a law and economics perspective. For the first time Chinese and European scholars jointly discuss some important attributes of China s legal and economic system, and some recent problems, from this particular viewpoint. The authors apply an economic analysis of law not only to general characteristics of China s social order, such as the specific type of federal competition, the efficiency of taxation and regulation, and the importance of informal institutions (Guanxi), but also to distinct areas of Chinese law such as competition policy, professional regulation, corporate governance and capital markets, oil pollution, intellectual property rights and internet games. The contributors discuss to what extent the law and economic models that have so far been employed within the context of deve