Economics 360 > Law & Economics > Syllabus

Fall 2002
Dr. Delemeester
Marietta College

Contact Information

Prerequisite

Economics 211

Course Description and Objectives

Law and economics is a natural marriage. Economics is the science of rational choice in a world in which resources are limited relative to human desires. The legal environment, in turn, determines the "rules of the game" as played by rational agents. Thus it is quite natural for economists to question the origin, nature, and consequences of the "rules of the game" as they pertain to individual and group behavior.

Among the important issues that we will address throughout this course are:

• How does the legal system shape economic incentives in ways that lead to socially optimal behavior?
• How does one measure the benefits and costs of changes in legal rules?
• What is the nature of private property in a market economy?
• What is the appropriate role of a legal system in settling private disputes?

This course has a strong policy orientation. Topics include product liability law, the economics of crime, pollution, government takings, and bargaining theory. Upon completing this course you should be able to:

• understand the effects of the legal system on economic behavior.
• understand discussions involving law and economics.
• ask good questions, both to yourself and to others.
• make good conjectures regarding the answers.

Text

We will be using Law and Economics, by Robert Cooter and Thomas Ulen, 3rd edition (Addison-Wesley, 2000). The web site for the text is www.cooter-ulen.com. A list of additional readings will be provided later.

Responsibilities*

I see my primary responsibility to lead, guide, and motivate a group of committed and dedicated students in the learning process, and to determine the extent to which students have mastered the material covered in this course. I am committed to this task. By signing up for this course, you have accepted the responsibility of being an active learner and of participating in the classroom discussion. Most importantly, students are expected to be committed to learning the subject matter. If you are not open to new ideas, or are not committed, expect your grade to reflect this.

Finally, I would like you to help me make this a better course. I have provided a lecture evaluation form on my web page for you to complete after every lecture. The form provides you with an anonymous means of communicating to me your impression of the day's lecture. Please take the time to fill out the form as it will help me understand which topics may require more in-depth discussion or elaboration.

Course Requirements and Policies

1. There will be five exams given. Your lowest score from the first four exams will be dropped. Exams will consist of essay, analytical, and true-false-explain questions. Make-up exams will not be given.
2. You are required to submit one article review and one legal brief. See below for details.
3. You are required to participate in a moot court case. See below for details.
4. Your participation in at least two lab experiments is required. Details to follow.
5. Attendance and participation are highly correlated with good performance in my courses. You are expected to fully participate in class discussion.
6. Academic dishonesty is a capital offense. As such, it will not be tolerated. All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will follow the procedures outlined in the MC catalog.
7. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor to discuss their individual needs for accommodation, in a timely manner.
8. Grades are determined as follows:

Writing Assignments

Each writing assignment should follow the format as described in the Marietta College Style Manual. At a minimum, they should be word-processed using 12-pt type, double-spaced, fully-justified, with numbered pages, no title page, no fancy binders, and spell-checked. Be sure to include a reference page. Late assignments will be penalized 5 points per day.

Article Review

You are required to submit a brief summary of a journal article on law and economics. If the article is not from the list of articles located on the course webpage, it must be approved by me before you begin. Only one person may review any given article (in other words, first-come, first-served). The summary should identify the question posed in the article, the approach used to address the question, possible significance of the article and/or the results, and a brief critique of the article. You may be asked to present the article summary to the class.

Moot Court

You will participate in a mock trial involving a fictitious legal dispute as either the prosecution or defense. The particulars of the case will be provided at a later date. The mock trial will precede as follows. The prosecution and defense are required to submit a written brief to the instructor summarizing their respective arguments. During the trial, each team will have 15 minutes to make its case (including opening statements and rebuttal). Each member of the team is required to speak and each student is limited to roughly 3 minutes.

Assessment of student performance is based on the quality of the analysis contained in each group's written brief, the oral presentation, and the team's assessment of each team member's performance. Each team member's grade is determined according to the following formula: Percent Score = 0.6*(Written Brief) + 0.2*(Oral Presentation) + 0.2*(Average of Team Member's Evaluations). All students on a team receive the same grade for the written brief. The instructor scores each individual's oral presentation. For the team member's evaluation, each student is required to complete a short questionnaire regarding each teammate.

Course Schedule

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