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ECON 141 Law and Economics

ECON 141 Syllabus [Fall 2020]
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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
  • 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

Module 14: Labor and the Law
  • 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
  • Antitrust (EconLib)
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  • Home
  • About Me
  • CV
  • Research
    • Pedagogical Research
    • Datasets
  • Teaching
    • ECON 191 Nobel Economics
    • ECON 205 Workshop in Policy Analysis