Handbook of Law and Economics

Details

Author(s):
Publish Date:
November 1, 2007
Publication Title:
Handbook of Law and Economics
Publisher:
Elsevier Science Publishing
Place of Publication:
Amsterdam
Editor(s):
  • A. Mitchell Polinsky,
  • Steven Shavell
Format:
Book, Whole Volume 1 & 2
Citation(s):
  • A. Mitchell Polinsky & Steven Shavell, Eds., Handbook of Law and Economics, Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishing, 2007 (2 volumes).
Related Organization(s):

Abstract

Law can be viewed as a body of rules and legal sanctions that channel behavior in socially desirable directions – for example, by encouraging individuals to take proper precautions to prevent accidents or by discouraging competitors from colluding to raise prices. The incentives created by the legal system are thus a natural subject of study by economists. Moreover, given the importance of law to the welfare of societies, the economic analysis of law merits prominent treatment as a subdiscipline of economics. This two-volume handbook explores these issues and aims to foster the study of the legal system by economists.