Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Civil Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law and Economics

PDF

Katharina Pistor

Selected Works

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Civil Law

Toward A Legal Theory Of Finance, Katharina Pistor Nov 2012

Toward A Legal Theory Of Finance, Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

This paper develops the building blocks for a legal theory of finance. LTF holds that financial markets are legally constructed and as such occupy an essentially hybrid place between state and market, public and private. At the same time, financial markets exhibit dynamics that frequently put them in direct tension with commitments enshrined in law or contracts. This is the case especially in times of financial crises when the full enforcement of legal commitments would result in the self-destruction of the financial system. This law-finance paradox tends to be resolved by suspending the full force of law where the survival …


Towards A New Transition Economics, Katharina Pistor Sep 2012

Towards A New Transition Economics, Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

In these brief comments I take issue with the thesis expressed in Konstantin Sonin’s conference review that economic transition is a thing of the past. To the contrary, I argue that it has only just begun and so has the process of rethinking the economic theories and models that have framed the subfield of transition economics. Specifically, I point out that the many surprises economists have encountered when confronted with the actual results of the transition process reveal deeper flaws in the analytical framework that informs their analyses and policy prescriptions. If protecting theories and models is of first order …