Law and economics has its origins in the work of Yale Law School Sterling Emeritus Professor of Law Guido Calabresi ’58, Ronald Coase at the University of Chicago Law School, and other scholars who moved the field of law and economics beyond its home base in antitrust and public utility regulation to encompass the common law fields of torts, contracts, and property.
Central to Calabresi’s early work on accident law was a commitment to begin with a problem and then consider alternative institutional structures to deal with this problem.
One existing institution concerned with accident prevention is the law of torts, but Calabresi sought to integrate the study of torts with other options, such as workers’ compensation systems and, for automobile accidents, insurance and laws governing speed limits, traffic signals, and road and vehicle design. His aim was to assemble a toolkit of institutions that could help alleviate a problem and to consider the relative efficiency, legitimacy, and fairness of possible remedies.
This commitment is the hallmark of Yale Law School’s approach to law and economics. Its scholars continue to expand the once-narrow field to encompass almost every area of law.
In the years since Calabresi’s foundational work, Yale Law School faculty research in law and economics has injected new ideas into public policy circles. Here are a few recent examples of how our faculty continues to drive the conversation.
Ian Ayres, Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor of Law and Professor of Public Health (Health Policy), comments on the intersection of civil rights and law and economics.
Zachary Liscow, Professor of Law, studies tax policy, benefit-cost analysis, and infrastructure construction costs, as well as addressing inequality through tax reform.
Daniel Markovits, Guido Calabresi Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law, discusses meritocracy in the media.
John Morley, Augustus E. Lines Professor of Law, is frequently cited on the law and economics of organization, including the regulation and structure of investment funds.
Roberta Romano, Sterling Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law, recently explored the shifting environment for corporate charters.
Susan Rose-Ackerman’s scholarship on corruption has been translated into a dozen languages and used as a template for reform programs in developing countries. She continues to comment on the need for checks and balances in regulatory procedure.
Natasha Sarin, Professor of Law and President and Co-Founder of the Budget Lab at Yale, is at the forefront of national tax law discussions.