Fall 2018

COURSE: LAW AND ECONOMICS

This course provides a broad overview of how economic thought relates to legal statutes and institutions. Broad legal topics include property law, contract law, tort law, and criminal law. One pervasive theme of the course is the idea that most criminal misconduct can be justified (insofar as being individually rational) and understood using the basic microeconomic principles of rational choice. Another will be to recognize the limiting assumptions inherent to economic thought as it pertains to this topic and consider the consequent implications for determining what constitutes a fair and just legal system.