This volume traces the evolution of the field of law and economics from its European roots to its neoclassical "Chicagoan" period to its current identity as a more fluid, transatlantic discipline. Paying special attention to the work of German economist Juergen Backhaus, who was instrumental in the reintroduction of the European perspective to the field, this book analyzes this gradual shift in the law and economics debate and provides a state-of-the-art of the literature currently being produced by the field's most active scholars. Beginning with a discussion of the history of the field and Backhaus' role in its development, the volume provides a survey of issues central to the current debate such as legal processes in both Europe and the U.S., constitutional political economy, regulatory law, and the ongoing evolution of the European Union. The importance of this volume is two-fold, as it firmly grounds the discipline in history while establishing a future research agenda. This book will be of use to researchers studying law and economics as well as those interested in institutional analysis.

The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy aims to demonstrate exactly how these two important areas have always been linked, and to illustrate the key areas of overlap. The Companion is divided into distinct parts, each of which highlights a leading area of scholarly concern: political economy conceived as social philosophy; the methodology and epistemology of economics; and social ontology and the ontology of economics. The contributors are well-known and distinguished authors from a variety of disciplines, who have been invited both to survey and to provide a personal assessment of current and prospective future states of their respective areas of philosophical interest. Academics and students who have an interest in economics and philosophy, political philosophy and the history of ideas will find this book of great appeal, as will researchers working in the field and readers interested in the nature of the discipline of economics.

Our societies obviously rest on common beliefs. These "myths" are tools that help us to develop and build common identities; they form the structure around which societies function. This does not imply that these beliefs are "true," in the sense that they would be supported by empirical facts. In social matters, myths have undoubtedly important functions to play even if no empirical facts support them. On the other hand, and precisely because they are not discussed, myths may be problematic: they may create illusions, conserve structures that are inefficient and unable to improve the situation of citizens. This is particularly true with constitutions. Constitutions are very important for societies: a constitution is a document - even in societies based on "unwritten" constitutions - which binds citizens together, creating unity among them, and which forms the framework within which our activities take place. As Nobel Prize laureate James Buchanan used to say: constitutions contain the rules of the social game we play in our everyday life. However, constitutions are not frequently debated by citizens. This is why we end up with common beliefs about these constitutions: they are above our heads, around us. We take them, their role, function, and nature as given. The purpose of this volume to investigate and challenge common constitutional myths. Featuring contributions from prominent economists, political scientists, and legal scholars, the chapters in this volume address such myths as "constitutions are binding social contracts," "constitutions are economic documents" and "constitutions are legal documents." Illustrating their analyses with historical and contemporary examples from the United States, Canada, and Europe, the authors build a multi-layered approach to understanding constitutions and their implications for social and political influence.

Law and the State provides a political economy analysis of the legal functioning of a democratic state, illustrating how it builds on informational and legal constraints. It explains, in an organised and thematic fashion, how competitive information enhances democracy while strategic information endangers it, and discusses how legal constraints stress the dilemma of independence versus discretion for judges as well as the elusive role of administrators and experts. Throughout the book, empirical evidence and comparative studies illuminate sometimes provocative theoretical views on issues such as: the place of the rule of law in constitutional and banking systems; regulation of copyright, art and heritage; innovations and technologies of communication and information; terrorism and media manipulation. Both private and public law, applied and theoretical issues are covered comprehensively. Academics and researchers of law and economics and public choice will find much to challenge and inform them within this book.

One of the major effects of the continual process of European integration is the growing importance of transnational institutions and the accompanying legal harmonization. Such institutional changes have led to a seemingly irreversible transformation in public decision making, whereby power at the national level is displaced to the European and regional levels. This essential book provides a law and economics analysis of the challenges arising from these shifts in authority.The process of harmonization is investigated from a normative point of view, in order to examine whether a uniform legal framework should be promoted. On the positive side, the goal is to assess the efficiency of this process and its impact on public policies. The authors then turn to applied issues and propose an agenda for future research. The book comprehensively covers both private and public law, as well as applied and theoretical issues. The authors analyse the legal debate from a new political economy perspective, offering diverse and sometimes contrasting views. The Economics of Harmonizing European Law highlights the debate between competition and harmonization which will be sure to shape the future of Europe. It should be read by students and scholars of law and economics, and European policymakers. It will also provide a valuable reference in the field of law harmonization for law practitioners.

This book brings together the most authoritative articles on Law and Economics and the interaction between the two disciplines as well as the use of economic tools to analyse legal problems. Aimed at students experiencing the subject for the first time, the selections are interlaced with a wealth of features including explanatory introductions and exercises. Key features of the reader include: - The accessibility of the material: the articles should be understandable to those with only a limited background in economics and law. - The book's focus on the most important and basic - foundational - issues in law and economics. - An exposition of the opposition between the different legal systems that exist in the world including common law, civil law and public law. - Debates viewed from the perspective of the scholars from a range of backgrounds are presented as well as all the key figures in economics and in law. The book should prove to be an essential resource to all students studying this burgeoning field and represents an exciting introduction to one of the key disciplines which has grown up in the social sciences in recent times.

This volume traces the evolution of the field of law and economics from its European roots to its neoclassical "Chicagoan" period to its current identity as a more fluid, transatlantic discipline. Paying special attention to the work of German economist Juergen Backhaus, who was instrumental in the reintroduction of the European perspective to the field, this book analyzes this gradual shift in the law and economics debate and provides a state-of-the-art of the literature currently being produced by the field's most active scholars. Beginning with a discussion of the history of the field and Backhaus' role in its development, the volume provides a survey of issues central to the current debate such as legal processes in both Europe and the U.S., constitutional political economy, regulatory law, and the ongoing evolution of the European Union. The importance of this volume is two-fold, as it firmly grounds the discipline in history while establishing a future research agenda. This book will be of use to researchers studying law and economics as well as those interested in institutional analysis.

Our societies obviously rest on common beliefs. These "myths" are tools that help us to develop and build common identities; they form the structure around which societies function. This does not imply that these beliefs are "true," in the sense that they would be supported by empirical facts. In social matters, myths have undoubtedly important functions to play even if no empirical facts support them. On the other hand, and precisely because they are not discussed, myths may be problematic: they may create illusions, conserve structures that are inefficient and unable to improve the situation of citizens. This is particularly true with constitutions. Constitutions are very important for societies: a constitution is a document - even in societies based on "unwritten" constitutions - which binds citizens together, creating unity among them, and which forms the framework within which our activities take place. As Nobel Prize laureate James Buchanan used to say: constitutions contain the rules of the social game we play in our everyday life. However, constitutions are not frequently debated by citizens. This is why we end up with common beliefs about these constitutions: they are above our heads, around us. We take them, their role, function, and nature as given. The purpose of this volume to investigate and challenge common constitutional myths. Featuring contributions from prominent economists, political scientists, and legal scholars, the chapters in this volume address such myths as "constitutions are binding social contracts," "constitutions are economic documents" and "constitutions are legal documents." Illustrating their analyses with historical and contemporary examples from the United States, Canada, and Europe, the authors build a multi-layered approach to understanding constitutions and their implications for social and political influence.

The essence of democratic power lies in the capacity to protect individual freedom while organizing the necessary coercion associated with any form of government. Yet, as the authors of this book maintain, developing coercion in order to protect freedom, and containing coercion in order to further protect freedom, is an arduous task, and one that faces any democratic Leviathan. The aim of this book is to explore this paradox and to analyse the intricate balance of freedom and coercion in developing states. In so doing it considers the legal and institutional conditions under which coercion and violence are admitted and/or permitted, and how these conditions should be organized in order to preserve and develop freedom as far as possible. Democracy, Freedom and Coercion comprehensively covers both private and public law, both applied and theoretical issues, and will therefore be of great interest to students studying law and economics. It will also serve as a reference tool to those academics in the field of legal competition, especially from the perspective of European issues.

The Elgar Companion to Economics and Philosophy aims to demonstrate exactly how these two important areas have always been linked, and to illustrate the key areas of overlap. The Companion is divided into distinct parts, each of which highlights a leading area of scholarly concern: political economy conceived as social philosophy; the methodology and epistemology of economics; and social ontology and the ontology of economics. The contributors are well-known and distinguished authors from a variety of disciplines, who have been invited both to survey and to provide a personal assessment of current and prospective future states of their respective areas of philosophical interest. Academics and students who have an interest in economics and philosophy, political philosophy and the history of ideas will find this book of great appeal, as will researchers working in the field and readers interested in the nature of the discipline of economics.

This volume explores the social, political, and intellectual contexts in which twentieth-century notions of market failure were developed. Markets can fail to perform in ways that best promote the larger interests of society: this idea is as old as economics itself and is one of the most crucial issues with which economic thinkers have had to grapple. However, while the history of the theory of market failure has received some critical examination, little attention has been paid to the larger contexts in which these theoretical analyses emerged. Contributors to this volume directly examine these contexts to gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the influence of external ideas and events on the development of economic theories and to stimulate additional scholarship around this important facet of the history of economics. Contributors. Nahid Aslanbeigui, Roger E. Backhouse, Bradley W. Bateman, Sebastian Berger, David Colander, J. Daniel Hammond, Marianne Johnson, Thomas C. Leonard, Alain Marciano, Steven G. Medema, Guy Oakes, Malcolm Rutherford, John D. Singleton

The idea of legal competition as a decentralized market process of law provision in which legal clubs compete, has earned an indisputable legitimacy among economists. This book presents a debate concerning the merits of and conditions for a competitive provision of law, with a special focus on institutions in Europe. The authors analyse three major aspects of the competitive provision of legal rules. First, the conditions under which citizens and firms arbitrate between the different legal orders are investigated. The book then goes on to analyse the supply aspect of the legal market and the consequences of the competitive pressures on the behaviour of the lawmakers. Finally, the conditions under which the State may efficiently control the process of law provision are discussed and justifications to its intervention are presented. A comprehensive study encompassing both private and public law, and applied and theoretical issues, this book will provide lively discussion and up-to-date research for students of law and economics, and an authoritative source of information for practitioners in the field of legal competition - in particular those specializing in European issues.