Law & Economics Program

The Law and Economics Program offers programming at the intersection of law and economics.

Law & Economics Programming

Frontiers in Law & Economics Conference
The Frontiers in Law & Economics (FILE) Conference features presentations from current students and graduates of the Ph.D. Program in Law & Economics.
Presenters at the fifth-annual conference, held April 10-11, included:
- Jennifer Shinall: Decisionmaking after Dobbs: Implications for Obstetric Care
- Fernando Mendoza Lopez: “You Keep Using That Word”: Price and Its Misinterpretation in Government Contracting
- Blair Druhan Bullock: Disclosing and Closing: An Empirical Analysis of Wage Disclosure Laws in the United States
- Sydney Schoonover: Enforcement & Compliance Under the Clean Air Act: Optimal Deterrence, Emissions Abatement, and the Efficacy of Alternatives
- Colton Cronin: The Price of Procedure: Empirical Evidence on Judicial Efficiency and Access to Justice
- Clayton Masterman: Loss of Chance and Incentives to Settle
- Ben McMichael: Sharing is Caring?: Eliminating Geographic Boundaries in Organ Allocation
- Rachel Dalafave: More Money, More Organs?
- Anthony Chen: Virtual Assets, Real Value: Considerations for Broader Taxation of Digital Items
- Jake Byl: Attorney Advertising, Risk Beliefs, and Shared Decision Making: The Credibility Paradox in Regulating Drug-Risk Information
- Nick Marquiss: Interstate Administrative Agencies
- Peyton Rameas: A Flood of Information: How Property Disclosure Laws Influence Flood Insurance Uptake
- Mackenzi Barrett: An Evaluation of False Claims Acts, Federal and State
- Scott Jeffrey: Law and Economics in Colorado’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics
Spring 2026 Law & Economics Conference
Paige Skiba, Robert S. and Theresa L. Reder Faculty Fellow, hosted the spring Law & Economics Conference at Vanderbilt Law on March 27, 2026. The conference featured seven distinguished professors from across the country:
- Lorenzo G. Luisetto: The Two Faces of Noncompetes: A Cross-Country Perspective
- Bo Cowgill: Clause and Effect: Theory and Field Experimental Evidence on Noncompete Clauses
- Jay Shimshack: Humane Handling in the Food Sector
- Jake Byl: Residential Housing Prices and the Capitalization of Natural Hazard Risks
- Jillian B. Carr: Optimal Punishment Lengths and Recidivism: Evidence from Sex Offender Registries
- Brittany Street: Credit Access among Formerly Justice-Involved Entrepreneurs: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program
- Shoshana Grossbard: On the Femicide Law in Brazil and its Consequences for Lethal Violence against Women

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty

A leading journal for the publication of relevant research on risk-bearing behavior and decision-making under uncertainty, the Journal of Risk & Uncertainty publishes empirical, experimental, and theoretical studies. The Journal encourages interdisciplinary and behavioral economics research dealing with risk and uncertainty, featuring topics from decision theory and economics of uncertainty to risk and public policy.

Learn More about the Journal

Program Origins

In 2006, Joni Hersch and W. Kip Viscusi launched a new program that would focus on integrating the study of economics with the study of law. Designed by Professors Hersch and Viscusi, together with economics professor Kathryn H. Anderson, the program offers 11 new and innovative courses specifically developed to fully integrate law and economics in specialized areas of interest.

Explore the Program’s History

Law & Economics Program