Law and Economics Positive, Normative and Behavioral Perspectives

This casebook examines the application of economic reasoning to law, including the underlying assumptions of the economic approach. It begins by describing the basic tools of economic analysis, including the Coase Theorem. It provides a critical examination of the strengths and limitations of economic analysis as applied to contracts, torts, criminal law, antitrust, and intellectual property. The goal is to enable students to understand how economics can illuminate the behavioral assumptions and trade-offs implicit in many legal doctrines, how it may assist in improving the law, and how the economic approach compares with social justice and other perspectives.