Economic Analysis of Public Law

George Dellis, Professor of Public Law, Athens Law Faculty, Greece

• Contents: Preface 1. Public law and economics: a necessary encounter 2. What a lawyer needs to know about economics: a rational (?) eye on everything 3. Economic analysis of public law: to the Coase theorem and beyond 4. To be or not to be? A general economic theory for public 5. Principles and methods for increasing efficiency in public law 6. Games of public power: what economics teaches us about constitutions 7. Between freedom and paternalism: an economic analysis of fundamental rights and the limits of public intervention 8. Modernising the demos: institutional architecture and procedural mechanics in public law 9. Economic analysis and the resolution of public law disputes: the scales, the sword and the blindfold of justice 10. The ascent of a new and efficient public law Bibliography Index

'An Economic Analysis of Public Law: Demos and Agora argues persuasively that public lawyers need to learn economics to help them promote effective and publicly acceptable legal reform in democracies. Law is not merely a formal category. It ought to help structure policy responses, both fairly and efficiently, in the face of scarcity, conflicting interests, and imperfect information. Especially in Europe, George Dellis's important book ought to help frame the debate over the functional role of law.'