Law & Economics (LAW-632-001)
Anderson
Meets: 06:00 PM - 07:50 PM (TH) - Room 503
Limit: 45
Notices
There are no notices at this time.
Description
(Draft of November 15, 2009, subject to revision) Law and Economics First Year Spring Elective Professor Kenneth Anderson – Course Description Catalog Description: This course will examine a range of legal issues through the lens of economic analysis. Many of the issues discussed arise in required first year courses (contracts, torts, property, civil procedure, and criminal law). Others will serve as an introduction to the ways in which economic concepts enter the law through business and finance law. But it is not a course in any of those subjects; its focus will instead be on understanding the application of economic thinking to legal questions and issues - the role of incentives, efficiency, tradeoffs, strategic thinking and elementary game theory ideas, cost-benefit analysis, etc. Some attention will be paid as well to the intellectual history behind these ideas and how they came to occupy the place they hold today in law, both practical and academic, and in law and public policy. There will be a small handful of formulas and math, but the assumption will be that students do not already come to the class with a sophisticated background in business, economics, finance, or math. It is intended to be a survey and introduction to ways of thinking about legal issues through fundamental economic concepts. Texts (might change somewhat; we will definitely use Polinsky, and then I’ll choose several more. These are all paperbacks, relatively cheap, not big casebooks): Mitchell Polinsky, An Introduction to Law and Economics (latest ed.) R. H. Coase, The Firm, the Market, and the Law David Friedman, Law’s Order: What Economics Has to Do With Law Nicholas Mercuro, Economics and the Law Cass Sunstein, Behavioral Economics and the Law Douglas Baird, Game Theory and the Law Other articles and materials I will post online at My.WCL. Note: None of these books is technical in the sense of formal economics or math. They are all oriented toward students who do not necessarily have a strong math or undergrad econ background. This class is not intended to require a prior background in business, finance, economics, or math. Standard liberal arts and humanities is fine for this class; you will need to work in order to absorb possibly new concepts and ways of thinking, but it does not require a technical background. Structure: The course meets once a week, 2 hours, so it is not a lot of time. The general order will follow Polinsky supplemented by other things, including game theory and behavioral economics. I will also introduce some basic finance concepts relevant to law if there is time, particularly basic ideas in cost benefit analysis. The course will have quizzes of various kinds – vocabulary, short responses, done in class over the course of the term, to ensure that you are reading and understanding as we go. There will be a final exam (format TBD once I consult with the associate dean’s about uniformity with other 1L classes).
Textbooks and Other Materials
The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.
First Class Readings
Not available at this time.