Understanding Contract Law provides an accessible, in-depth analysis of the purpose of contracting and the role of the law of contract, as well as theories that inform it, assessing the historical development of this cornerstone of law and how theories are applied in jurisdictions throughout the world.

Richard Austen-Baker is Senior Lecturer in Law at Lancaster University Law School where he has taught since 2004. He has been teaching contracts and commercial law to undergraduates every year since 1999.

Qi Zhou is Associate Professor for Law at the University of Leeds Law School, having joined in June 2013. Prior to this, he was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield.

1. What is contract for? And what is contract law for? 2. The historical context of contract 3. Classical and neo-classical contract 4. The ideological context of contract 5. The relational context of contract 6. The economic context of contract law: Part I 7. The economic context of contract law: Part 2 8. Contract and Globalization