Behavioral law and economics

Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the past few decades, economic analysis of law has been challenged by a growing body of experimental and empirical studies that attest to prevalent and systematic deviations from the assumptions of economic rationality. While the findings on bounded rationality and heuristics and biases were initially perceived as antithetical to standard economic and legal-economic analysis, over time they have been largely integrated into mainstream economic analysis, including economic analysis of law. Moreover, the impact of behavioral insights has long since transcended purely economic analysis of law: in recent years, the behavioral movement has become one of the most influential developments in legal scholarship in general. Behavioral Law and Economics offers a state-of-the-art overview of the field. The book surveys the entire body of psychological research underpinning behavioral analysis of law, and critically evaluates the core methodological questions of this area of research. The book then discusses the fundamental normative questions stemming from the psychological findings on bounded rationality, and explores their implications for establishing the aims of legislation, and the means of attaining them. This is followed by a systematic and critical examination of the contributions of behavioral studies to all major fields of law-property, contracts, consumer protection, torts, corporate, securities regulation, antitrust, administrative, constitutional, international, criminal, and evidence law-as well as to the behavior of key players in the legal arena: litigants and judicial decision-makers.

Original languageEnglish
PublisherOxford University Press
Number of pages622
ISBN (Electronic)9780190901349
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Oxford University Press 2018. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Behavioral analysis of law
  • Bounded rationality
  • Commercial law
  • Heuristics and biases
  • Judicial decision-making
  • Law and economics
  • Private law
  • Procedural law
  • Psychology
  • Public law

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