“Newtonian Law and Economics, Quantum Law and Economics, and the Search for a Theory of Relativity”

At this law school, “law and economics” is a mantra. But what is the “economics” in “law and economics”? There is a tendency to see research on cognitive biases and bounded rationality (“behavioral economics”) as challenging or even overturning an approach using models of rational behavior (“neo-classical economics”). With the help of an analogy to physics, I argue that such a view disserves both the enterprise of neo-classical economics and the promise of behavioral economics, and I define present and future challenges for the economic analysis of law.

William H. J. Hubbard is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School.

This talk, the 2015 Coase Lecture in Law and Economics, was recorded on April 14, 2015.