Synopses & Reviews
"
Economics for Lawyers is by far the best book available for lawyers who want to learn the economic concepts that will influence future public policy debates and regulatory decisions. It developed out of Richard Ippolito's immensely popular class at the George Mason University School of Law, where many of the students already work for Congress, the executive branch, or federal regulatory agencies. They, more than most law students, already know that the Washington, DC, policymaking process has become a creative and productive debate between lawyers and economists--one in which it is a distinct advantage to possess both sets of tools."
--Mark F. Grady, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law and Economics, University of California, Los Angeles"This book strikes the right balance between rigor and intuition. The tools presented here provide a framework in which the disparate concepts and issues thrown at students in law school can be organized and analyzed systematically. However, Economics for Lawyers also provides the kind of examples that are engaging to even those students who usually shudder when they hear words like 'slope' or 'maximize'."--Jonathan Klick, Assistant Professor of Law and Courtesy Professor of Economics, Florida State University; Associate Director, Liability Project, American Enterprise Institute
"Economics for Lawyers is well and clearly written and well organized, and its examples are quite good. A fine complement to available texts in the area of law and economics, it is a book I would like to teach from; indeed the very thought engendered a feeling of positive anticipation."--Richard O. Zerbe, Jr., University of Washington, author of A Foundation for the Use of Economics Efficiency in Law and in Economics
"This book is well organized and well written, with easy-to-follow main points and a minimum of technical analysis. It will serve its purpose well of introducing economic concepts to law students."--Albert Choi, University of Virginia
Review
is well and clearly written and well organized, and its examples are quite good. A fine complement to available texts in the area of law and economics, it is a book I would like to teach from; indeed the very thought engendered a feeling of positive anticipation.
Review
"Economics for Lawyers provides systematic instruction in economic theory relevant to law, starting with indifference curves and working its way through the basics of game theory. . . . [It] is a very good textbook. It is comprehensive, well-organized, clearly written, and very usable. . . . [T]he focus of the book is unique; I know of no other book that attempts to do the same thing."--G. Thomas Woodward, The Federal Lawyer
Review
This book strikes the right balance between rigor and intuition. The tools presented here provide a framework in which the disparate concepts and issues thrown at students in law school can be organized and analyzed systematically. However, also provides the kind of examples that are engaging to even those students who usually shudder when they hear words like 'slope' or 'maximize'.
Review
Economics for Lawyers provides systematic instruction in economic theory relevant to law, starting with indifference curves and working its way through the basics of game theory. . . . [It] is a very good textbook. It is comprehensive, well-organized, clearly written, and very usable. . . . [T]he focus of the book is unique; I know of no other book that attempts to do the same thing. G. Thomas Woodward
Review
Economics for Lawyers provides systematic instruction in economic theory relevant to law, starting with indifference curves and working its way through the basics of game theory. . . . [It] is a very good textbook. It is comprehensive, well-organized, clearly written, and very usable. . . . [T]he focus of the book is unique; I know of no other book that attempts to do the same thing. G. Thomas Woodward
Synopsis
Whether dealing with contracts, tort actions, or government regulations, lawyers are more likely to be successful if they are conversant in economics.
Economics for Lawyers provides the essential tools to understand the economic basis of law. Through rigorous analysis illustrated with simple graphs and a wide range of legal examples, Richard Ippolito focuses on a few key concepts and shows how they play out in numerous applications. There are everyday problems: What is the social cost of legislation enforcing below-market prices, minimum wages, milk regulation, and noncompetitive pricing? Why are matinee movies cheaper than nighttime showings? And then there are broader questions: What is the patent system's role in the market for intellectual property rights? How does one think about externalities like airport noise? Is the free market, a regulated solution, or tort law the best way to deliver the "efficient amount of harm" in the workplace? What is the best approach to the question of economic compensation due to a person falsely imprisoned?
Along the way, readers learn what economists mean when they talk about sorting, signaling, reputational assets, lemons markets, moral hazard, and adverse selection. They will learn a new vocabulary and a whole new way of thinking about the world they live in, and will be more productive in their professions.
Synopsis
Whether dealing with contracts, tort actions, or government regulations, lawyers are more likely to be successful if they are conversant in economics. Economics for Lawyers provides the essential tools to understand the economic basis of law. Through rigorous analysis illustrated with simple graphs and a wide range of legal examples, Richard Ippolito focuses on a few key concepts and shows how they play out in numerous applications. There are everyday problems: What is the social cost of legislation enforcing below-market prices, minimum wages, milk regulation, and noncompetitive pricing? Why are matinee movies cheaper than nighttime showings? And then there are broader questions: What is the patent system's role in the market for intellectual property rights? How does one think about externalities like airport noise? Is the free market, a regulated solution, or tort law the best way to deliver the "efficient amount of harm" in the workplace? What is the best approach to the question of economic compensation due to a person falsely imprisoned?
Along the way, readers learn what economists mean when they talk about sorting, signaling, reputational assets, lemons markets, moral hazard, and adverse selection. They will learn a new vocabulary and a whole new way of thinking about the world they live in, and will be more productive in their professions.
Synopsis
"Economics for Lawyers is by far the best book available for lawyers who want to learn the economic concepts that will influence future public policy debates and regulatory decisions. It developed out of Richard Ippolito's immensely popular class at the George Mason University School of Law, where many of the students already work for Congress, the executive branch, or federal regulatory agencies. They, more than most law students, already know that the Washington, DC, policymaking process has become a creative and productive debate between lawyers and economists--one in which it is a distinct advantage to possess both sets of tools."--Mark F. Grady, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law and Economics, University of California, Los Angeles
"This book strikes the right balance between rigor and intuition. The tools presented here provide a framework in which the disparate concepts and issues thrown at students in law school can be organized and analyzed systematically. However, Economics for Lawyers also provides the kind of examples that are engaging to even those students who usually shudder when they hear words like 'slope' or 'maximize'."--Jonathan Klick, Assistant Professor of Law and Courtesy Professor of Economics, Florida State University; Associate Director, Liability Project, American Enterprise Institute
"Economics for Lawyers is well and clearly written and well organized, and its examples are quite good. A fine complement to available texts in the area of law and economics, it is a book I would like to teach from; indeed the very thought engendered a feeling of positive anticipation."--Richard O. Zerbe, Jr., University of Washington, author of A Foundation for the Use of Economics Efficiency in Law and in Economics
"This book is well organized and well written, with easy-to-follow main points and a minimum of technical analysis. It will serve its purpose well of introducing economic concepts to law students."--Albert Choi, University of Virginia
Synopsis
Whether dealing with contracts, tort actions, or government regulations, lawyers are more likely to be successful if they are conversant in economics.
Economics for Lawyers provides the essential tools to understand the economic basis of law. Through rigorous analysis illustrated with simple graphs and a wide range of legal examples, Richard Ippolito focuses on a few key concepts and shows how they play out in numerous applications. There are everyday problems: What is the social cost of legislation enforcing below-market prices, minimum wages, milk regulation, and noncompetitive pricing? Why are matinee movies cheaper than nighttime showings? And then there are broader questions: What is the patent system's role in the market for intellectual property rights? How does one think about externalities like airport noise? Is the free market, a regulated solution, or tort law the best way to deliver the "efficient amount of harm" in the workplace? What is the best approach to the question of economic compensation due to a person falsely imprisoned?
Along the way, readers learn what economists mean when they talk about sorting, signaling, reputational assets, lemons markets, moral hazard, and adverse selection. They will learn a new vocabulary and a whole new way of thinking about the world they live in, and will be more productive in their professions.
Synopsis
"
Economics for Lawyers is by far the best book available for lawyers who want to learn the economic concepts that will influence future public policy debates and regulatory decisions. It developed out of Richard Ippolito's immensely popular class at the George Mason University School of Law, where many of the students already work for Congress, the executive branch, or federal regulatory agencies. They, more than most law students, already know that the Washington, DC, policymaking process has become a creative and productive debate between lawyers and economists--one in which it is a distinct advantage to possess both sets of tools."--Mark F. Grady, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law and Economics, University of California, Los Angeles
"This book strikes the right balance between rigor and intuition. The tools presented here provide a framework in which the disparate concepts and issues thrown at students in law school can be organized and analyzed systematically. However, Economics for Lawyers also provides the kind of examples that are engaging to even those students who usually shudder when they hear words like 'slope' or 'maximize'."--Jonathan Klick, Assistant Professor of Law and Courtesy Professor of Economics, Florida State University; Associate Director, Liability Project, American Enterprise Institute
"Economics for Lawyers is well and clearly written and well organized, and its examples are quite good. A fine complement to available texts in the area of law and economics, it is a book I would like to teach from; indeed the very thought engendered a feeling of positive anticipation."--Richard O. Zerbe, Jr., University of Washington, author of A Foundation for the Use of Economics Efficiency in Law and in Economics
"This book is well organized and well written, with easy-to-follow main points and a minimum of technical analysis. It will serve its purpose well of introducing economic concepts to law students."--Albert Choi, University of Virginia
About the Author
Richard A. Ippolito retired in 2004 as Professor of Law and Economics from the George Mason University School of Law, where he taught the materials that form the basis for this book to more than 1,000 law students over the course of his five-year tenure. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1974, and spent twenty-five years working with lawyers on policy and regulatory issues. His previous books include "Pension Plans" and "Employee Performance".
Table of Contents
Introduction xv
What Makes This Book Different xvii
Recommended Supplementary Reading xviii
Chapter 1: Finding the Optimal Use of a Limited Income 1
I. INDIFFERENCE CURVES 1
A. The Main Question 1
B. Indifference Curves Slope Downward 2
C. Other Things to Know about Indifference Curves 4
II. GAINS FROM TRADE USING THE EDGEWORTH BOX DIAGRAM 6
A. Construction of the Box 8
B. Pareto Superior Trades 10
C. The Contract Curve: Pareto Optimal Allocations 12
III. THE BUDGET LINE: THE ESSENCE OF THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM 14
A. Impact of Income Changes 16
B. Impact of Price Changes 16
IV. CONSUMER CHOICE: THE OPTIMUM USE OF A LIMITED INCOME 16
A. Determining the Optimal Solution 16
B. Portraying an Exact Solution 18
C. How a Change in Income Affects Choice 19
D. The Impact of a Price Change on the Optimum Solution 20
V. THE COMPENSATION PRINCIPLE: THE DOLLAR VALUE OF CHANGES IN UTILITY 20
A. Valuing the Utility Change from a Price Reduction 20
B. Anatomy of a Price Change: Income and Price Effects 23
VI. APPLICATIONS OF THE COMPENSATION PRINCIPLE 24
A. Buckley's Tulips and Mums Problem 24
B. Dominic's Report Card and Computer Games 33
Chapter 2: Demand Curves and Consumer Surplus 41
I. FROM INDIFFERENCE CURVES TO DEMAND CURVE 41
II. CONSUMER SURPLUS 46
A. An Intuitive Way to Understand Consumer Surplus 47
B. Using the Compensation Principle 49
C. Checking Back with the Indifference Curve Map 51
III. MARKET DEMAND CURVE 52
A. Consumer Surplus When Demand Curves Are Linear 55
B. Complements and Substitutes 57
C. Changes in Income 59
IV. DEMAND ELASTICITY 59
A. Calculating the Elasticity for a Linear Demand Curve 60
B. Relation of Elasticity to Total Revenue 63
C. Long-run versus Short-run Elasticity 67
V. APPLICATION: IMPOSITION OF A TAX 68
A. Showing the Distortion on Indifference Curves 68
B. Efficiency in a Kaldor-Hicks Sense 70
C. Showing the Distortion on the Demand Curve 73
D. Tax Burden: Application of Demand Elasticity 76
APPENDIX: CONSUMER SURPLUS AND UNCOMPENSATED
DEMAND CURVES 80
Chapter 3: Supply Curves and the Flow of Resources Also Sunk Cost, Opportunity Cost, and Transactions Cost 82
I. THE WORLD MARKET FOR NICKEL 83
A. The Supply of Nickel with No Fixed Costs 83
B. Producer Surplus 85
C. The World Price for Nickel 86
D. Surpluses in Market Equilibrium 88
II. THE SOLUTION WITH FIXED COSTS AND MANY FIRMS 89
A. Constructing the Cost Curves 90
B. Sustainable Price: Equilibrium in a Long-run Sense 94
III. MARKET EQUILIBRIUM: ENTRY, EXIT, AND COMPETITIVE RETURNS 95
A. How to Evaluate the Sustainability of a Market Price 95
B. The Dynamics of Entry 96
C. The Concept of Long-run Supply 99
IV. PRODUCER SURPLUS, LONG AND SHORT RUN, AND ECONOMIC RENT 100
A. Producer Surplus in a Short-run Sense 100
B. The Concept of Rent 101
C. The Dynamics of an Increase in Rent 103
D. Portraying the Solution in the Market
for Litigation Services 104
E. The Long-run Supply Curve 107
V. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: RECONSIDERING A TAX ON ONE GOOD 111
A. Short-run Impact of the Tax 111
B. Long-run Impact of the Tax 113
VI. A FEW MISCELLANEOUS COST ISSUES 115
A. Sunk Cost 115
B. Opportunity Cost 120
C. Transactions Cost 122
APPENDIX: SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPACT OF A SUBSIDY 125
Chapter 4: Using Demand and Supply Curves to Evaluate Policy 127
I. SHIFTS IN DEMAND AND SUPPLY CURVES 128
II. IMPACT OF A MAXIMUM