This interdisciplinary collection examines the significance of constitutions in setting the terms and conditions upon which market economies operate. With some important exceptions, most notably from the tradition of Latin American constitutionalism, scholarship on constitutional law has paid negligible attention to questions of how constitutions relate to economic phenomena. A considerable body of literature has debated the due limits of the exercise of executive and legislative power, and discussions about legitimacy, democracy, and the adjudication of rights (civil and political, and socioeconomic) abound, yet scant attention has been paid by constitutional lawyers to the ways in which constitutions may protect and empower economic actors, and to how constitutions might influence the regulation and governance of specific markets. The contributors to this collection mobilize insights from other disciplines - including economic theory, history, and sociology - and consider the relationship between constitutional frameworks and bodies of law - including property law, criminal law, tax law, financial regulation, and human rights law - to advance understanding of how constitutions relate to markets and to the political economy. This book's analysis of the role constitutions play in shaping markets will appeal to scholars and students in law, economics, history, politics, and sociology.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to law and policy responses to contemporary problems in Latin America, such as human rights violations, regulatory dilemmas, economic inequality, and access to knowledge and medicine. It includes 19 chapters written by sociologists, lawyers, and political scientists on the transformations of courts, institutions and rights protection in Latin America, all of which stem from presentations at conferences in Oxford and UCL organised by the editors. The contributors present original analyses based on rigorous research, innovative case-studies, and interdisciplinary perspectives, all written in an accessible style. Topics include the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, institutional design, financial regulation, competition, discrimination, gender quotas, police violence, orphan works, healthcare, and environmental protection, among others. The book will be of interest to students and scholars interested in policymaking, public law, and development.