This book brings together the most authoritative articles on Law and Economics and the interaction between the two disciplines as well as the use of economic tools to analyze legal problems. For students experiencing the subject for the first time, the selections are interlaced with a wealth of features including explanatory introductions and exercises.

Alain Marciano is Associate Professor at the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne, France.

Introduction Alain Marciano Part 1: From Old to New Law and Economics 1. Economics and Contiguous Discipline Ronald Coase 2. Wandering the Road From Pluralism to Posner: The Transformation of Law and Economics Steve Medema Part 2: Towards an Economic Analysis of Law 3. The Law and Economics Movement Richard A. Posner 4. The Art of Law and Economics: An Autobiographical Essay William M. Landes 5. Behavioral Law and Economics Christine Jolls Part 3: The Economics of the Emergence and Establishment of Norms and Customs 6. The Market for Social Norms Robert C. Ellickson 7. The Economics of Conventions H. Peyton Young 8. The Evolution of Economic Institutions as a Propagation Process Ulrich Witt Part 4: The Economics of Legal Systems 9. Private Creation and Enforcement of Law: A Historical Case David Friedman 10. Bruno Leoni in Retrospect Peter A. Aranson 11. Crafting social rules: Common Law vs. Statute law, Once Again Richard E. Wagner 12. The German Civil Code of 1896: An Economic Interpretation Juergen Backhaus Part 5: The Economics of Judicial Decision Making 13. Reputation and Judicial Decision-Making Thomas J. Miceli and Metin M. Cosgel 14. Evolution of the Common Law and the Emergence of Compromise Douglas G.Whitman 15. An Economic Analysis of the Use of Citations in the Law Richard A. Posner Part 6 - Efficiency of the Common Law: Myth or Reality 16. The Rise and Fall of Efficiency in the Common Law: A Supply-Side Analysis Todd J. Zywicki 17. Economic Efficiency and the Common Law Thomas J. Webster 18. Micro and Macro Legal Efficiency: Supply and Demand Paul H. Rubin Postface by Richard A. Posner