Economics and the Law Reader

These essays are based on the Coase Lectures presented by faculty of the University of Chicago Law School. The lectures, named for Nobel Laureate and emeritus Chicago faculty member Ronald Coase, are designed to introduce law students, and especially first-year law students, to the economic analysis of law. The lectures thus assume no prior knowledge of economics, and only the most minimal knowledge of the law. The essays collected in this book are for the most part faithful reproductions of the lectures, with citations added for the purpose of guiding the reader to the relevant literature.