Jim Whitney Economics 357
Email: whitney@oxy.edu
Home page: http://faculty.oxy.edu/whitney
Office: Fowler 213
Phone: X2750
Office hours:
    Monday: ____________
    Wednesday: ____________
    Friday: ____________

Economics 357: Spring 2004: Law and Economics
Course web address: http://www.whitney.oxy.edu/classes/ec357

Welcome to Econ.357, Law and Economics! Both law and economics have been around for centuries, but "law and economics" is less than fifty years old. In this course, we will consider questions from a variety of areas of the law:
  • Property law: When a rancher and a farmer are neighbors, who should be responsible for protecting the farmer's crops from the rancher's cattle?
  • Contract law: Should oil companies have been held liable for breach of contract on deliveries they couldn't fulfill because of the 1967 Mideast War?
  • Tort (accident) law: If a driver runs a stop sign and collides with an unlicensed driver, who should pay damages?
  • Antitrust law: Should music companies be allowed to cancel the retail advertising support they would otherwise provide to Wherehouse Records if Wherehouse decides to sell used CDs?
To address these sorts of questions, we will apply the tools of price theory, so Intermediate Microeconomics (Economics 250 or the equivalent) is a prerequisite for this course.

Readings and materials: Each of the following is required for the course:

Other course readings, including court cases, are available online. You will need to enter the following information to access some of these readings:
    User name: _______________     Password: _______________
For others, you will need your Occidental College library access information. Tip: JSTOR's pdf files are typically easier to read if you select the 'Download' option rather than trying to read them screen-by-screen online.

 

Requirements: Your course grade will be distributed approximately as follows:

Midterm exam 16%
Final exam 24%
Short assignments

24%
Term paper 24%
Participation 12%

   Assignment due dates will be listed in the course schedule as the term progresses. Assignments must be turned in on time in order to receive credit for them, and you must conscientiously complete all course assignments in order to pass the course. You are also expected to abide by the other general policies which apply to the course. To read them over, select the "Policies" link on the course home page.
   Class time will include a variety of collaborative learning activities which are impossible to "make up" by borrowing notes from a classmate or doing the readings on your own. So attendance is a crucial part of your overall course performance. As a result, once you miss four class meetings, each additional unexcused absence will lower your course grade by 0.1 of a letter grade. So, for example, if you miss seven classes, a final grade of 3.0 (B) will be reduced to a 2.7 (B-). I don't anticipate that any of you will end up in this situation, but I do want you to realize the significance of the penalty at stake.

Tips:

  1. I invite and encourage you to come see me outside of class. No appointment is necessary to visit me in my office during regular office hours. If you wish to meet with me at other times, just call me or email me to set up an appointment.
  2. Do not fall behind. It is especially important that you read assigned court cases before they are covered in class.
  3. Teamwork is a key aspect of Law and Economics. You will often be assigned to teams for course assignments and in-class exercises, and I encourage you to make other opportunities to work together.

 

Course schedule:
 

I. Introduction
Dates: Jan. 21-30
 

IA. The relationship between law and economics
Readings:     Friedman: Introduction; Chapter 1
    Other: listed in online schedule for Unit IA
 

IB. Review of microeconomic theory
Readings:     Friedman: Chapter 2
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Topic:

II. Law and economic analysis
Dates: Jan. 30 - Feb. 11
 

IIA. Legal institutions and processes
Readings:     Friedman: Intermezzo.
    Other: listed in online schedule for Unit IIA
 

IIB. Foundations for the economic analysis of the common law
Readings:     Friedman: Chapters 3; 4.
    Other: listed in online schedule Unit IIB
Deadlines:     Friday, Feb.13: Short assignment 1
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III. Property
Dates: Feb. 11 - Mar. 5
Readings:      Friedman: Chapters 5; 10; 11.
    Other: listed in online schedule for Unit III
Deadlines: Mar.11, Thu., 5-7 PM: Exam 1
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IV. Contracts
Dates: Mar. 8 - Apr. 5
Readings:     Friedman: Chapters 6; 8; 12
    Other: listed in online schedule for Unit IV
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V. Torts
Dates: Apr. 7 - 28
Readings:     Friedman: Chapters 7; 9; 14.
    Other: listed in online schedule for Unit V
Deadlines:     Apr.28, Wednesday: Research paper due
    May 3, Monday, 1:00-4:00 PM: Final exam
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