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780 - Law and Economics
Professor: Guy A. Rub
Semester: 2011 Autumn
Second Writing Requirement? No
Seminar? No
Professional Responsibility? No
Prerequisites: Completion of first year law curriculum
Course Description
Why and when should property be privately owned? How can a legal system minimize the social costs of accidents? Should the state regulate pollution? If so, how? Why do we even need the law of contract? What are the purposes of default rules?
This course examines these and similar questions by introducing the students to one of today’s most powerful schools of legal thought, Law and Economics. Law and Economics applies the basic tools of economic reasoning to legal doctrines and provides a set of tools for analyzing laws. The course will begin by looking into a few general questions such as what does it mean that a law is efficient? Then, the course will explore how the Law and Economics approach sheds light on some of the most basic questions and implicit assumptions that are at the heart of every legal system.
The course neither presumes nor requires a background in economics.
The course materials listed above are for informational purposes only and should not be considered final. Students must check with the Registrar for a current list of closed courses.
