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Full-Text Articles in Legal History
The Evolution Of The Common Law And Efficiency, Nuno Garoupa, Carlos Liguerre
The Evolution Of The Common Law And Efficiency, Nuno Garoupa, Carlos Liguerre
Faculty Scholarship
The efficiency of the common law hypothesis has generated a large bulk of literature in the last decades. The main argument is that there is an implicit economic logic to the common law; the doctrines in common law provide a coherent and consistent system of incentives which induce efficient behavior.
We start by observing that if the common law is overall evolutionarily efficient, we are left with no explanation for the important doctrinal differences across common law jurisdictions. The observation is more striking if we keep in mind that presumably the de jure initial condition was the same, namely English …
Silent Spring At 50, Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers, Andrew P. Morriss
Silent Spring At 50, Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers, Andrew P. Morriss
Faculty Scholarship
This introduction from the book Silent Spring at 50 describes the various contributors’ insights into Rachel Carson’s landmark work. The authors come from a variety of disciplines, including conservation biology, English, law, and economics, and offer critical assessments of Silent Spring and its legacy. The first part has three chapters that put the book into the context of its time, examining it in light of Carson’s previous books on the sea (Wallace Kaufman); the larger tradition of authors warning against human hubris in environmental matters (Pierre Desrochers & Hiroko Shimizu); and the contest between “environmental religion” and “economic religion” that …
Agricultural Revolutions And Agency Wars: How The 1950s Laid The Groundwork For "Silent Spring", Roger E. Meiners, Andrew P. Morriss
Agricultural Revolutions And Agency Wars: How The 1950s Laid The Groundwork For "Silent Spring", Roger E. Meiners, Andrew P. Morriss
Faculty Scholarship
This chapter from the book Silent Spring at 50 analyzes the 1950s struggle over US food policy between USDA and FDA and how that struggle set the stage for the impact of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Using a public choice/interest group analysis, the chapter examines how the two agencies reacted to the large scale transformation of US agriculture and food production during and following World War II. Just as agriculture underwent a dramatic productivity revolution that changed the face of American farming, marketing, new home appliances, and increased participation in the labor force by women radically changed the kinds of …