Law and
Economics
Chuck
Stull
Fall 2008
Course Description: Law and Economics studies the
interaction between the legal system and the market system. It examines whylaw is necessary for markets to function and it uses
economic principles to analyze laws. This course uses basic tools of
economics to understand avariety of legal
issues. Topics covered include property and contracts, civil vs. criminal
law, antitrust, environmental regulation, and international tradepolicy.
Textbook: Law's Order: WhatEconomics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters by
David Friedman;
There will be three exams, as follows:
Exam I Friday, October 17 (4th week, in class)
Exam II Friday, November 7 (7th week, in class)
Exam III during the scheduled final exam period (Wednesday Dec 3, at 8:00 am)
Material covered on each exam will be discussed in class. Topics from
last time are still available:
Topics for Exam One
Topics for Exam Two
Topics for Final Exam
Course
Outline
I. Introduction (Friedman: Introduction, Chapter 1)
II. Fundamental ideas
A. Economic Concepts (Chapters 2, 3, 4)
B. Property and Liability Rights (Chapters 5, 6, 7)
C. Strategic behavior (Chapter 8)
D. Compensation (Chapter 9)
III. The US Legal system (Intermezzo)
IV. Legal concepts
A. Property Law (Chapter 10)
B. Intellectual Property (Chapter 11)
C. Contracts (Chapter 12, 13)
D. Tort Law (Chapter 14)
E. Crime and Punishment (Chapter 15, 18)
V.
Applications (as time permits)
A. Antitrust (Chapter 16)
B. International markets and the law
C. Environmental Law
VI. Conclusion (Chapter 19, Epilogue)
Links by topic
I. Introduction
A. Economic Concepts
B. Property and Liability Rights
C. Strategic behavior
D. Compensation
Forensic EconomicsReading Room
II. The Legal system
Michigan Courts
Federal JudicialBranch
Supreme CourtDecisions
A. Property Law
B. Intellectual Property
OpposingCopyright Extension
Prof.Lawrence
Lessig (Internet Law)
Should
there be a shorter period of patent protection for prescription drugs ?
Project Gutenberg(Public
domain e-books)
C. Contracts
Contract briefs
D. Tort Law
Tort
briefs
E. Crime and Punishment
Criminal briefs
III. Applications
A. Antitrust
Should the antitrust exemption for baseball be eliminated?
B.
International markets and the law
C. Environmental Law
General law and economics links
Econ 280 Term papers from2005
Econ 280 Term paper topics from 2003.
American Law and Economics Association(full
text articles)
Law and Economics Linksfrom WebEc
Encyclopedia of Law andEconomics
Cooter and Ulen's Law and EconomicsWebsite
D. Friedman 's ClassOutline for:Economic
OpenLaw
(Harvard Law project)
Law and EconomicsLinks
from Prof John Sell
Department of Economics homepage
