This research guide covers the main resources for the area of law and economics. Materials included in this guide are located in the University of Chicago Libraries, available via online databases, or on the Internet. Sources marked "Internet" are freely available on the web, while those marked "Online" are available only to members of the University of Chicago community. Due to license restrictions, the law library can only provide access to the legal research systems LexisNexis and Westlaw to current law school students, faculty, and staff.
The Library also provides limited versions of both systems for use by non-Law School patrons. LexisNexis Academic Universe is available to the University of Chicago community and provides access to the full-text U.S. Code and Federal cases, as well as other U.S. Federal and State primary and secondary sources. Westlaw Public Access is a similar service provided by Westlaw and is available only on the four designated computers located in the Reserve Reading Room in the D'Angelo Law Library.
You may also want to consult the Law School's webpage for the John M. Olin Program in Law & Economics.
Robert Cooter & Thomas Ulen, Law and Economics (4th ed.
2004).
Print: XXK487.E3C665 2004, D'Angelo Law Bookstacks & Law
Reserve
Law and Economics is an introductory level textbook aimed at
both law and non-law students. It begins with a section explaining some
fundamental economic terms and concepts, and is supplemented by a Web
site that provides additional information on many of the book's
topics.
Jeffrey L. Harrison, Law and Economics in a Nutshell (3d ed. 2003).
Print: XXK487.E3H372 2003, D'Angelo Law Reserve
Like the other titles in West's Nutshell Series, Law and Economics in a Nutshell attempts to explain the basics of the subject in a concise and straightforward manner. It includes chapters on the application of economic principles to criminal law, economics, and government regulation.
Edmund W. Kitch, "Chicago School of Economics," in 1 The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law (Peter Newman ed., 1998) 227-233
Print: XXK487.E3N49 1998, D'Angelo Law Reference & Law Reserve.
This article succinctly traces the history and development of the law and economics movement at the University of Chicago from 1939 to the mid-1970s through the teachings of men such as Milton Friedman, Ronald Coase, and Richard Posner.
A. Mitchell Polinsky, An Introduction to Law and Economics (3d ed. 2003).
Print: XXKF385.P592 2003, D'Angelo Law Bookstacks & Law Reserve
An Introduction to Law and Economics is a relatively short (175 page) primer on the fundamentals of law and economics aimed at undergraduate and law students. The book begins by introducing the Coase Theorem, and then applies this principle to a variety of different areas, including breach of contract, automobile accidents, and law enforcement.
Richard A. Posner, The Economic Analysis of Law (7th ed. 2007).
Print: XXKF385.P652 2007 D'Angelo Law Bookstacks & Law Reserve
The seventh edition of The Economic Analysis of Law is the latest version of a classic in the field that was first published in 1973. It is a law textbook organized around legal concepts (e.g., property, contracts, family law, trusts and estates), that argues that economic efficiency should play a leading role in how judges decide cases.
Eric A. Posner, Chicago Lectures in Law and Economics (2000).
Print: XXK487.E3C553 2000 D'Angelo Law Bookstacks & Law Reserve
This work is a collection of a dozen essays based on Coase Lectures presented by different members of the University of Chicago faculty. Â The essays cover a wide variety of topics, but are intended to be (relatively) accessible and presume no specialized knowledge of economics.
Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (Boudweijn Bouckaert & Gerrit De Geest eds., 2000).
Print: XXK487.E3E53 2000, D'Angelo Law Reserve
Internet: http://encyclo.findlaw.com/
The Encyclopedia of Law and Economics is a five volume work that attempts to collect and organize the scholarly literature on law and economics, both in the United States and abroad. In addition to extensive bibliographies listing the available books and articles on various topics, there are also fairly detailed articles at the beginning of each section that try to summarize the existing literature and explain basic principles and trends.
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law (Peter Newman ed., 1998).
Print: XXK487.E3N49 1998 D'Angelo Law Reference and Law Reserve
More of an encyclopedia than a dictionary, The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law contains about four hundred articles on various aspects of the field, arranged alphabetically in three volumes. Most entries are three to five pages long and all include a bibliography of sources to consult for additional information.
Findlaw Law and Economics Resources
Internet: Findlaw
The Journal of Law & Economics.
This journal tends to look at issues from more of an economics than a legal perspective.
Print: Current copies are shelved in the Reserve Reading Room
Print: KA1.J866, D'Angelo Law Bookstacks (back issues)
Online: Journal of Law & Economics
Online: JSTOR
The Journal of Legal Studies
The focus of this journal is usually on legal issues more than economics.
 Print: Current copies are shelved in the Reserve Reading Room
Print: KA1.J86905, D'Angelo Law Bookstacks (back issues)
Online: Journal of Legal Studies
Online: JSTOR
The Journal of Law, Economics & Organization
This publication is newer than The Journal of Law & Economics and The Journal of Legal Studies, but still well respected.
Print: Current copies are in the Reserve Reading Room
Print: KA1.L34, D'Angelo Law Bookstacks
Online: Journal of Law, Economicc & Organization
Online: JSTOR
Print: HeinOnline
Additional resources on law and economics can be found by searching the subject headings "Law and Economics" and "Law -- Economic Aspects" in the The University of Chicago Library Catalog. Law and economics journal articles can be located by searching the subject headings listed below in legal periodical indexes such as LegalTrac and the Index to Legal Periodicals and Books ("ILP"), and non-legal indexes such as:
Ebsco Academic Search Premier
Coase Theorem [LegalTrac & ILP]
Economic Jurisprudence [ILP]
Economics [LegalTrac]
Externalities (Economics) [LegalTrac]
Law and Economics [LegalTrac]
Law & Economics [Academic Search Premier]