Standard Form Contracts
17 Pages Posted: 8 Apr 2009 Last revised: 26 Apr 2009
Date Written: April 8, 2009
Abstract
The literature on standard form contracts has increased dramatically in recent years, as lawyers and economists have debated their desirability in both business and consumer settings. The development of novel forms of contracting, such as telephonic and Internet-based contracting, as well as the application of interdisciplinary approaches to legal issues have raised questions concerning the meaning of assent to terms that are presented with little practical opportunity for negotiation. Many of the arguments for or against the enforcement of standard form contracts rely on assumptions concerning the extent to which some buyers can serve as surrogates for others and the presence or absence in standard forms of terms that reflect what would emerge in a competitive environment. Recently, some empirical literature has appeared on these questions as well. Finally, some commentators have suggested additional administrative regulation of contracts to reduce exploitation of those presented with unalterable standard forms. This review of the literature, prepared for the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (2d edition), discusses the current state of the theoretical and empirical literature on these issues.
Keywords: contracts, standard form contracts
JEL Classification: K12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
What's in a Standard Form Contract? An Empirical Analysis of Software License Agreements
-
Competition and the Quality of Standard Form Contracts: The Case of Software License Agreements
-
On-Line Boilerplate: Would Mandatory Website Disclosure of E-Standard Terms Backfire?
-
Are 'Pay Now, Terms Later' Contracts Worse for Buyers? Evidence from Software License Agreements
-
On-Line Consumer Standard-Form Contracting Practices: A Survey and Discussion of Legal Implications
-
'Unfair' Dispute Resolution Clauses: Much Ado About Nothing?