Law and Economics

Catalog description

This course evaluates major areas of common (case) law using basic economic concepts and game theory. Applying economic principles to legal issues offers insight into how laws and regulation create or change (either intentionally or unintentionally) the incentives of decision-makers that affect welfare-maximizing behavior. We begin with an overview of the U.S. legal system and economic tools, then evaluate each major area of law: property (real and intellectual), contracts, torts, and basic regulation. We also explore how economists use their tools as expert witnesses in court cases, a possible career path as an economics major. Using concepts from class, you will present and write positive economic analyses of legal cases from the perspectives of the plaintiff's economist, defendant's economist, and judge. Prereq: ECON 102 .