Economic Approaches to Legal Reasoning and Interpretation

Edited by Brian H. Bix, Frederick W. Thomas Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Minnesota, US

‘Bix compiles a classic collection of the best writing in the area, with an eye towards pieces that are both sophisticated and accessible to a general audience. The section on contract interpretation provides a perfect selection of articles to introduce the subject and enables the reader to understand the more specialized and nuanced work in the area’

• Contents:Introduction Brian H. BixPART ICONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION 1. A. C. Pritchard and Todd J. Zywicki (1999), ‘Finding the Constitution: An Economic Analysis of Tradition’s Role in Constitutional Interpretation’, North Carolina Law Review, 77 (2), January, 409–5212. John O. McGinnis (2014), ‘Public Choice Originalism: Bork, Buchanan and the Escape from the Progressive Paradigm’, Journal of Law, Economics and Policy, 10 (3), Fall, 669–88PART IISTATUTORY INTERPRETATION3. Jonathan R. Macey (1986), ‘Promoting Public-Regarding Legislation through Statutory Interpretation: An Interest Group Model’, Columbia Law Review, 86 (2), March, 223–684. John A. Ferejohn and Barry R. Weingast (1992), ‘A Positive Theory of Statutory Interpretation’, International Review of Law and Economics, 12 (2), June, 263–795. Robert D. Cooter and Tom Ginsburg (1996), ‘Comparative Judicial Discretion: An Empirical Test of Economic Models’, International Review of Law and Economics, 16 (3), September, 295–3136. Arthur Lupia and Mathew D. McCubbins (2005), ‘Lost in Translation: Social Choice Theory is Misapplied Against Legislative Intent’, Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues, 14 (2), February, 585–617PART IIIPRECEDENT 7. William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner (1976), ‘Legal Precedent: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis’, Journal of Law and Economics, 19 (2), August, 249–307 8. Erin O’Hara (1993), ‘Social Constraint or Implicit Collusion?: Toward a Game Theoretic Analysis of Stare Decisis’, Seton Hall Law Review, 24 (2), June, 736–78 9. Vincy Fon and Francesco Parisi (2006), ‘Judicial Precedents in Civil Law Systems: A Dynamic Analysis’, International Review of Law and Economics, 26 (4), December, 519–3510. Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer (2007), ‘Overruling and the Instability of Law’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 35 (2), June, 309–28PART IVINTERPRETING CONTRACTS 11. Ian Ayres and Robert Gertner (1989), ‘Filling Gaps in Incomplete Contracts: An Economic Theory of Default Rules’, Yale Law Journal, 99 (1), October, 87–130 12. Alan Schwartz (1992), ‘Relational Contracts in the Courts: An Analysis of Incomplete Agreements and Judicial Strategies’, Journal of Legal Studies, 21 (2), June, 271–31813. Gillian K. Hadfield (1994), ‘Judicial Competence and the Interpretation of Incomplete Contracts’, Journal of Legal Studies, 23 (1), January, 159–8414. Alan Schwartz and Robert E. Scott (2003), ‘Contract Theory and the Limits of Contract Law’, Yale Law Journal, 113 (3), December, 541–61915. Avery Wiener Katz (2004), ‘The Economics of Form and Substance in Contract Interpretation’, Columbia Law Review, 104 (2), March, 496–53816. Richard A. Posner (2005), ‘The Law and Economics of Contract Interpretation’, Texas Law Review, 83 (6), May, 1581–61417. Alan Schwartz and Robert E. Scott (2010), ‘Contract Interpretation Redux’, Yale Law Journal, 119 (5), March, 926–6418. Steven J. Burton (2013), ’A Lesson on Some Limits of Economic Analysis: Schwartz and Scott on Contract Interpretation’, Indiana Law Journal, 88 (1), Winter, 339–60 Index