ECON 141 Law and Economics
| ECON 141 Syllabus [Fall 2020] |
Handouts
Instructor Note: Readings will be added over the course of the semester. Be sure to check back for each module!
Module 2: Economic Efficiency and Utility Theory
Module 3: Property Rights
Module 4: Externalities and Transaction Costs
Module 5: Contracts and Breach
Module 7: Product Liability and Torts
Module 9: The Economics of Crime...
Module 10: ...and Punishment
[Instructor Note: Going forward, there are no textbook readings, so there are a few more supplemental readings]
Module 11: The Shadow of the Law
Module 12: Public Law, Private Governance
Module 13: Applications in Public Health
Module 15: Antitrust
Module 2: Economic Efficiency and Utility Theory
- Efficiency (EconLib)
- Who Loses From Efficiency? (Bryan Caplan, EconLib)
- Temporary Wartime Golf Rules in Britain in World War II [example of norms as law]
- De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum (Gary Becker and George Stigler, 1977)
- Be sure to log in through the SJSU Library!
Module 3: Property Rights
- Toward a Theory of Property Rights (Demsetz, 1967)
- The Legacy of Kelo v. New London (YouTube)
- A Fair(y) Use Tale (YouTube)
- Current Takings Cases (Pacific Legal Foundation)
- Pick one to read and write about this week!
- Electronic Frontier Foundation Copyright Week (optional)
Module 4: Externalities and Transaction Costs
- Externalities (EconLib)
- Guided Example: Coase Theorem (YouTube)
- Michael Heller on the Tragedy of the Anticommons (YouTube)
- Sunnyvale homeowners told to cut redwoods that block solar panels (The Mercury News)
Module 5: Contracts and Breach
- A victory for freedom of contract (Pacific Legal Foundation)
- Weston & Anor v Weston & Ors [2006] EWCA CIV 42 (17 January 2006) [note the number of deceased parties and the length of the court case, all from a conflict over a contract]
- When Congressional Legislation Interferes with Existing Contracts: Legal Issues (optional)
Module 7: Product Liability and Torts
- A California mayor wants to require all gun owners to have liability insurance (CNN)
- The Trump Administration's Surprising Attack on Religious Freedom Reaches the Supreme Court (Forbes)
- Make cops carry liability insurance: The private sector knows how to spread risks, and costs [Opinion] (NY Daily News)
Module 9: The Economics of Crime...
- Militarization and police violence: The case of the 1033 program (Delehanty et al, 2017)
- The no-knock warrant for Breonna Taylor was illegal (Washington Post)
- Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip Searches for Any Arrest (NYT)
- Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year (The Washington Post)
- Houston Forfeiture Case | Recording of the Opening Argument and Rebuttal (optional)
Module 10: ...and Punishment
- New Bill Would Abolish Qualified Immunity, Make it Easier to Sue Cops Who Violate Civil Rights (Forbes)
- Jamison v. McClendon, Order Granting Qualified Immunity (2020)
- Juries Can Acquit the Guilty, 9th Circuit Says, but 'There Is No Right to Nullification'
- Kaleif Browder Held at Rikers Island for 3 Year Without Trial (NYT)
- Innocence is Irrelevant (The Atlantic) [plea bargains]
- Another study finds few consequences for prosecutor misconduct (Washington Post)
[Instructor Note: Going forward, there are no textbook readings, so there are a few more supplemental readings]
Module 11: The Shadow of the Law
- Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: The Case of Divorce (Robert Mnookin and Lewis Kornhauser, 1979)
- Sentencing Shift Gives New Leverage to Prosecutors [Plea Bargains] (NYT)
- The Devil’s Bargain: How Plea Agreements, Never Contemplated by the Framers, Undermine Justice (Cato)
- Plea Bargaining Outside the Shadow of Trial (Stephanos Bibas, 2004)
Module 12: Public Law, Private Governance
- The Law Merchant and International Trade (Foundation for Economic Education)
- Legal Systems Very Different From Our Own (David Friedman) [pick ONE legal system to read about]
Module 13: Applications in Public Health
- How the "ghost map" helped end a killer disease (TED Talk)
- How The 'Pox' Epidemic Changed Vaccination Rules (NPR)
- The 115-year-old Supreme Court opinion that could determine rights during a pandemic (CNN)
- An Interview with James Colgrove, author of Epidemic City
- Protectionist Certificate of Need Laws Stand in the Way of Desperately Needed Medical Care (Forbes)
- Telemedicine Before, During, and After COVID-19
- A California Firefighter's Struggle Shows That There Are Too Many Barriers to Finding Work with a Criminal Record (Forbes)
- Licensing Costs Our Economy $180 Billion/Year - Here are Ways to Avoid That (YouTube)
- No, Immigrants Won’t Make Welfare State Bigger (Cato)
- Want a global economic boom? Open the borders (Washington Post)
- 3 Reasons Why Immigrants Are Key To Economic Growth (Forbes)
Module 15: Antitrust