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Chicago-Kent College of Law

2004

Common law

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Legal Analysis Of Economics: Solving The Problem Of Rational Commitment, Bruce Chapman Jun 2004

Legal Analysis Of Economics: Solving The Problem Of Rational Commitment, Bruce Chapman

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This Article offers a "legal analysis of economics" in contradistinction to the prevailing "economic analysis of law." The economic problem that forms the subject matter of the theoretical legal analysis is the problem of rational commitment. The difficulty here is that an agent can have a reason, or a preference, to commit to do something that he will have no reason actually to do, or which will be contrary to preference when the time comes actually to do it. Familiar examples include the problem of making credible threats or promises. This Article develops an account of the rational actor that …


Fairness And Welfare From A Comparative Law Perspective, Horacio Spector Jun 2004

Fairness And Welfare From A Comparative Law Perspective, Horacio Spector

Chicago-Kent Law Review

This Article discusses the relative value of law and economics and moral philosophy to explain private law in both common law and civil law jurisdictions. It argues that the recent philosophical paradigm, which revolves around the ideas of fairness and autonomy, is intellectually continuous with the School of Rationalist Natural Law. Though this School has been directly influential on the development of civilian private law, its ascendancy on common law cannot be documented. Paradoxically, recent philosophical explanations of private law bear on common law, while legal philosophers in civil law jurisdictions still follow Kelsen's research agenda, which focuses on the …