Università Roma Tre

THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW CLASS ALLOWS STUDENTS TO LOOK AT LEGAL RULES FROM A DIFFERENT AND WIDER POINT OF VIEW IN COMPARISON WITH THE TRADITIONAL HERMENEUTIC METHOD. THE PURPOSE OF THE COURSE IS TO ANALYZE THE LEGAL PHENOMENON THROUGH THE ECONOMIC LENS AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, THROUGH THE NOTIONS OF NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS. THE PREDICTIVE ABILITY, TYPICAL OF THE ECONOMIC REASONING, ALLOWS ONE TO DETERMINE WHICH INCENTIVES ARE PLACED ON INDIVIDUALS BY DIFFERENT LAWS AND, CONSEQUENTLY, WHICH EFFECTS SHOULD BE REASONABLY EXPECTED FROM THE ADOPTION OF A CERTAIN RULE. THE “LAW AND ECONOMICS” METHOD AIMS TO SELECT EFFICIENT RULES CAPABLE OF MAXIMIZING THE SOCIAL WELFARE.
THE STARTING POINT OF THE COURSE IS THE ANALYSIS OF MICROECONOMICS’ BASIC NOTIONS (E.G., DEMAND AND SUPPLY CURVES, MONOPOLY, THE PARETO PRINCIPLE, THE HOMO ECONOMICUS). FURTHERMORE, THE ANALYSIS OF THE SO CALLED TRANSACTION COSTS AND OF THE COASE THEOREM, WHICH SHOWS THAT LEGAL RULES MATTER, ALLOWS ONE TO GO INTO THE MERITS OF THE SUBJECT AND TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE FOUNDATIONS OF “LAW AND ECONOMICS” THROUGH WHICH THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF PRIVATE LAW ARE CONTEMPLATED: TORTS, CONTRACTS, PROPERTY LAW, CORPORATE LAW AND BANKRUPTCY LAW. THE COURSE RECKONS THE MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF “LAW AND ECONOMICS” AND IN PARTICULAR ADDRESSES THE “BEHAVIORAL LAW AND ECONOMICS” METHOD, WHICH SUPPLEMENTS THE RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY WITH THE INSIGHTS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY.

A SELECTION OF READINGS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES WILL BE USED AS INDICATED DURING THE SEMESTER.