Law and Economics:A Research Guide

Robin Gault

Spring 2007

• “For the rational study of the law the black letter man may be the man of the present, but the man of the future is the man of statistics and the master of economics.” • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., The Path of the

Law, 10 Harvard Law Review 457, 469 (1897).

Introduction

Why “law and economics”?

Providing a scientific basis for law.

Influence of other social sciences.

Overview of Law and Economics

Introductory sources in print copy:

Robert Cooter and Thomas Ulen, Law and Economics, 4th ed. (2004) [K 487 E3 C665 2004]

David, D. Friedman, Law’s Order: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Matters (2000) [Reserve HB 171 F768 2000, also e-book]

Jeffrey L. Harrison, Law and Economics in a Nutshell, 3d ed. (2003) [Reserve K 487 E3 H37 2003]

Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law, 6th ed. (2003) [Reserve KF 385 P65 2003]

Steven Shavell, Economic Analysis of Law (2004) [Reserve K 487 E3 S528 2004]

Introductory information on the Web:“Law and Economics” in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/law-econ.htm

“Law and Economics” in The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (The Library of

Economics and Liberty)http://www.econlib.org/library/ENC/LawandEconomics.html

David D. Friedman, Law’s Order: What Economics Has to Do with Law and Why It Mattershttp://www.daviddfriedman.com/laws_order/

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law (1998)

[K 487 E3 N48 1998]

Encyclopedia of Law and Economics

[K 487 E3 E23 2000]http://encyclo.findlaw.com/

Locating Journal Articles

All of the important journals covering law and economics are indexed in EconLit .

Major economics journals also have back issues available through JSTOR.

Major Journals in Law and Economics

• Journal of Law and Economics

• Journal of Legal Studies

• Journal of Law, Economics & Organization

• Supreme Court Economic Review

Economics Research

National Bureau of Economic Researchhttp://nber.org/

NBER is the leading nonprofit research organization in the U.S. Its mission is to undertake and disseminate unbiased economic research to guide policy-making in government and business.

Law and Economics Links

Findlaw Law and Economics links:

http://lawecon.lp.findlaw.com/

University of Chicago Law School Law and Economics links:

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/Lawecon/links.html

Sources of Economics Statistics

U.S. Department of CommerceBureau of Economic Analysis

http://bea.gov/

The Bureau of Economic Analysis collects, analyzes, and disseminates statistical information about the nation’s economy.

U.S. Department of HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/

The CDC collects and disseminates health and medical data.

U.S. Department of LaborBureau of Labor Statistics

http://www.bls.gov/bls/proghome.htm

The BLS collects a wide array of data on employment and consumer spending.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Filings (EDGAR)

http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml

All publicly-traded companies doing business in the U.S. are required to file periodic reports with the SEC. These are available to the public through EDGAR.

Other federal government sources:

FedStats home page

http://www.fedstats.gov/

A Few Blogs

The Becker-Posner Blog:http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/

Law and Econ Prof Blog:http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_econ/

University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog:http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/Not limited to law and economics but includes many well-known scholars in the field.