The Objective

Designed for students who wish to pursue careers in universities, research institutions, or government, the program offers a specialized interdisciplinary approach that integrates law and economics within a rigorous curriculum. Students receive a solid grounding in microeconomic theory, econometrics, and law and economics theory. Our principal fields include behavioral law and economics, risk and environmental regulation, and labor and human resources.

Ph.D. Program Requirements

Students admitted to the program are required to successfully complete 72 hours of coursework and research. This includes a minimum of 47 hours of formal coursework in core, field, and elective courses as well as 6 hours of Ph.D. Law and Economics Workshop. The core consists of 29 hours in law and economics, economic theory, and empirical analysis. After their first year of study, students select two fields of concentration from a pre-approved list of fields and begin taking the associated field courses. Currently, the list of identified fields includes behavioral law and economics, risk and environmental regulation, and labor and human resources. Field requirements include 12 hours of coursework (6 hours in each field). In some circumstances, and with the consent of the director of graduate studies and program faculty, students are allowed to develop a new field.

The curriculum for students entering the program in AY 2009-10 will be:

Fall 2009

 
Spring 2010

Download the schedule timetable for first-year students for 2009-2010.

Students in year two and beyond will take a mix of law, law and economics, and economics courses. In addition to the first-year LWEC courses, the program anticipates offering the following courses in 2009-2010:

Fall 2009

Spring 2010

To ensure that students receive an adequate amount of exposure to teaching and research, all funded students, after their first year of study, are required to perform teaching and/or research assistantship work.

J.D./Ph.D. Program Requirements

The program's director of graduate studies works with students who have been admitted into the joint degree program to help them coordinate the course of study so that all requirements of both degrees are met. Please visit the Law School's main curriculum page to learn more about the requirements of the J.D. program.

Law and Economics Courses

LWEC 401. Law and Economics Theory I
Principles of economic analysis as applied to legal issues. Topics include, among others, torts, property, litigation, and government regulation. Pre- or co-requisite: ECON 304A. [3]

LWEC 402. Law and Economics Theory II
Economic analysis of the law with applications from civil and criminal procedure, law enforcement, property, torts, decision-making by courts, settlement negotiation, contracts, and antitrust. Prerequisite: LWEC 401; Pre- or co-requisite ECON 304B. [3]

LWEC 403. Behavioral Law and Economics I
Economic principles underlying behavioral law and economics research. Analyses of the rationality of individual choice will be undertaken, including research that involves the interaction of economics, psychology, and decision sciences. Applications of behavioral law and economics methods will be applied to the analysis of jury behavior. Pre- or co-requisite: ECON 304A. [3]

LWEC 404. Behavioral Law and Economics II
Research contributions at the frontier of behavioral law and economics research. Each student will structure a controlled experiment to test the rationality of jury behavior, the effect of alternative jury instructions, or a similar kind of scientifically controlled study of behavior relating to the performance of the legal system. Students will administer and analyze the survey results and will prepare an original research paper on their chosen topic. Pre-requisite:  LWEC 403. [3]

LWEC 405. Econometrics for Legal Research
Analysis and critique of empirical legal research using advanced econometric techniques. Topics will be drawn from the program's core fields. Students will perform independent empirical research using primary data sources. Pre- or co-requisite ECON 307, LWEC 401. [3]

LWEC 406. Research in Law and Economics
Students will develop and complete an original research paper. The paper may pose an original research question or may be a replication of an existing empirical result. [2]

LWEC 420. Labor Markets and Human Resources I 
Economic, econometric, and legal analysis of the labor market. Topics include analysis of the economic impact of employment laws with a particular focus on antidiscrimination laws, use of labor market studies to estimate the value of statistical life, and behavioral labor economics and economic models of fairness in the employment relationship. Pre-requisite ECON 304A, ECON 307, ECON 309. [3]

LWEC 421. Labor Markets and Human Resources II
Application of economic and legal analysis to labor market and demographic transformations, including changes in the gender composition of labor market participants, aging of the workforce, immigration, education, poverty, inequality, and provision of health services. Pre-requisite ECON 304A, ECON 307, ECON 309. [3]

LWEC 430. Risk and Environmental Regulation I
Analysis of the sources of market failure that create a rationale for risk and environmental regulation. Methodologies pertaining to appropriate valuation and enforcement of these regulatory policies. Applications include procedures for estimating the value of statistical life, perception of risk, the role of hazard warnings, risk analysis by government agencies, and the enforcement of regulatory programs. Pre-requisite ECON 304A, ECON 307, ECON 309. [3]

LWEC 431. Risk and Environmental Regulation II
Analysis of the sources of market failure that create a rationale for risk and environmental regulation. Methodologies pertaining to appropriate valuation and enforcement of these regulatory policies. This course will focus on theoretical economic models of risk and environmental regulation. Among the topics included will be the economics of risk and uncertainty, discounting, and benefit-cost analysis. Pre-requisite ECON 304A, ECON 307, ECON 309. [3]

LWEC 490. Ph.D. Law and Economics Workshop
Research workshop on the presentation and interpretation of research and literature on law and economics. Topics vary with student and faculty interest. [3]

LWEC 399. Ph.D. Dissertation Research   

The record of LWEC course offerings 2007-present may be found at the LWEC Course Archive.