Economics and the Law [Paperback]

Nicholas Mercuro (Author), Steven G. Medema (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 1997

This text presents a concise overview of the current perspectives and varied traditions that constitute the evolving field of law and economics. The authors make it clear that the field is not a homogenous movement by illuminating the several competing and yet complementary traditions within it, including the Chicago School of Law and Economics, Public Choice Theory, Institutional and Neo-Institutional Law and Economics, the New Haven School and Modern Civic Republicanism, as well as the Critical Legal Studies' challenge to Law and Economics. By providing readers with a noncritical description of the broad contours of each school of thought, the authors convey a strong sense of the important elements of these interrelated yet varied traditions. The authors define "law and economics" broadly to include the application of economic theory (primarily microeconomics and the basic concepts of welfare economics) to the formation, structure, processes and economic impact of law and legal institutions. Since the law and the economy interact across a variety of fronts, the fundamental insights of their burgeoning field have important implications, not only for economics, but also for those in such contiguous disciplines as political science, public administration and sociology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The authors' primary goal, which they achieve admirably, is to provide a concise review of the major scholarly traditions that use economic analysis of the law. . . . [T]he descriptions of each tradition are clear and painstakingly evenhanded. . . . This brief volume provides a sound understanding of each tradition's virtues and weaknesses." -- Constitutional Political Economy

The authors' primary goal, which they achieve admirably, is to provide a concise review of the major scholarly traditions that use economic analysis of the law. . . . [T]he descriptions of each tradition are clear and painstakingly evenhanded. . . . This brief volume provides a sound understanding of each tradition's virtues and weaknesses. -- Review

About the Author

Nicholas Mercuro is University-wide Professor at Michigan State University. He is a coauthor of Law, Economics and Public Policy. Steven G. Medema, is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado at Denver and is the author of Ronald H. Coase.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691011745
• ISBN-13: 978-0691011745
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,576,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful introduction to an important field, April 4, 2001

By 

Stephen M. Bainbridge "www.professorbainbridg... (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Economics and the Law (Paperback)

What is law & economics? It is the school of jurisprudence in which the tools of microeconomic analysis are used to study law. Those of us who practice economic analysis have a deceptively simple task. We translate some legal doctrine into economic terms. We then apply a few basic principles -- cost-benefit analysis, collective action theory, decision-making under uncertainty, risk aversion, and the like -- to the problem. Finally, we translate the result back into legal terms.

Law & economics unquestionably is the most successful form of intellectual arbitrage in the history of jurisprudence. Why? Traditional forms of legal scholarship were mostly backward looking. One reasoned from old precedents to decide a present case, seemingly without much concern (at least explicitly) for the effect today's decision would have a future behavior. Yet, law is necessarily forward looking. To be sure, a major function of our legal system is to resolve present disputes, but law's main job is to regulate future behavior. The law & economics movement succeeded because it recognized that judges cannot administer justice solely retrospectively. They must also consider what rules their decisions will create to guide the behavior of other actors in the future. Even more important, however, law & economics gives judges systematic mechanisms for predicting how rules will affect behavior.

Mercuro and Medema's text offers a comprehensive overview of law & economics. Unlike many texts, it is not limited to the Chicago School (as exemplified by such stalwarts as Manne, Easterbrook, and Posner). They also describe the New Haven school (classically exemplified by Calabresi), the public choice theory of Arrow, Buchanan, and others, as well as both the traditional and new institutional economics. By reminding us that law & economics is not a homogeneous field, and providing a fair commentary on each of the major traditions within the larger discipline, they offer an excellent introduction to this important area of jurisprudence.

One nice touch, which makes the text useful for a wide audience, is that it does not assume familiarity with either economics or law. The introduction offers a brief historical overview of basic jurisprudence, as well as an appendix explaining basic economic principles. Consequently, the book will serve well the interests both of lawyers who need to brush up on economics and economists interested in law.

Criticisms that led me to subtract one star: There is little in the way of critical evaluative judgment. Indeed, Mercuro and Medema disavow any effort at criticism. As a result, the reader is left to his own devices. Second, I am not persuaded by Mercuro and Medema's decision to include a rather lengthy chapter on critical legal studies. Criticism of law & economics has been a major project of CLS scholars, but CLS scholarship has had no influence of any significance on any of the dominant strains of law & economics thinking. In this case, moreover, the failure to exercise critical evaluative judgment means that the generalist reader may have difficulty assessing the (bogus) claims made by CLS. In general, while maintaining facial neutrality on their own part, Mercuro and Medema give far more attention to CLS and Marxist critiques of law & economics than they do to conservative critiques thereof or to law & economics criticisms of CLS.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to law and economics, March 31, 1999

By 

John Samples ([e-mail]) (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Economics and the Law (Paperback)

A nice piece of work. The authors undertake a difficult task: providing a readable introduction to the varied "law and economics" movement. The first chapter is one of the better narrative explications of the idea of efficiency that I have seen. It is followed by chapters on the various schools that make up the law and economics movement, each of which provides a good,brief intellectual history of the school and a helpful exposition of its content. For the undergraduate, this book is really a service since it also provides good follow up reading in the field. For the lawyer becoming interested in economics, this may well be the best place to start. Kudos to the authors and Princeton University Press: a clear and well-written book that serves an important purpose.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid introductory exposition to a broad range of outlooks., September 18, 2000

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Economics and the Law (Paperback)

Houman Shadab's review is right on the money -- including what's left _out_ of this otherwise excellent introductory work. Since I like Hayek, Barnett, and Rothbard, I find the omission disappointing -- but c'est la vie.

Anyway, if you're looking for a solid overview of the various schools of thought involving the relations between law and economics, this volume is a great place to start. (_Complete_ newcomers might also want to pick up Dennis Patterson's _Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory_, which includes a fine essay on "Law and Economics.")

One tremendous merit of the present volume is that it doesn't limit itself to the "Chicago school." The U of Chi crowd gets a single chapter, and the rest of the book is devoted to the other schools of thought Mr. Shadab has helpfully listed below. The resulting volume is therefore pretty comprehensive (with the exceptions already noted).

Readers interested in this topic may want to read Thomas Miceli's _Economics of the Law_ next. I don't personally favor the mathematical-models approach (for the usual Misesian/Rothbardian reasons) -- but Miceli's volume is a fine introduction to that approach and will afford the reader the opportunity to judge it on its merits.