New Directions in Law and Economics 730713

A candidate who has successfully completed the subject should:

Understand how scholars have used the tools of economics to analyse legal rules
Be familiar with the traditional ‘rational choice’ paradigm and its characteristic predictions about human behaviour
Appreciate the breadth and depth of the influence that economic reasoning has had on legal scholarship and jurisprudence since the middle of the 20th century
Know the ways in which human behaviour systematically and predictably deviates from the predictions of rational choice theory
Understand recent contributions to the field of behavioural law and economics that aim to improve our predictive ability
Be able to discuss and criticise law journal articles and judicial opinions that rely on economic reasoning
Develop some original insight into the questions we have addressed.

Principal topics will include:

Introduction to the ‘rational choice’ paradigm that has dominated the field of law and economics since its inception in the middle of the 20th century
Consideration of both the theoretical structure and practical importance of economic reasoning in the field of law
Consideration of a broad set of challenges to the rational choice paradigm that can be grouped loosely under the rubric of ‘behavioural law and economics’
Situations in which individuals fail to behave as rational, self-interested utility maximisers
Consideration of whether these new behavioural theories provide a sufficiently firm theoretical foundation to be used to design or reform legal regulations
Candidates will have ample opportunities to apply these theories to legal subjects that interest them.

Melbourne Law School The Melbourne Law Masters