Law, Economics, and Morality: Response to Critiques

Abstract:     
In our book, Law, Economics, and Morality (OUP, 2010), we proposed to combine economic methodology and deontological morality through explicit incorporation of moral constraints into economic models. We argued that the normative flaws of economic analysis can be rectified without relinquishing its methodological advantages and that moral constraints can be formalized so as to make their analysis more rigorous. We then illustrated the implementation of constrained CBA in several legal fields, including contract law, freedom of speech, the fight against terrorism, and legal paternalism.

In this paper, we respond to critical reviews of the book written by Professors Larry Alexander, Ariel Porat, and Avihay Dorfman. Among other things, we clarify the scope and goals of the book, elucidate the relationships between deontology and consequentialism, discuss the relationships between deontological constraints and options, and address various issues in contract law and remedies.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 41

Keywords: consequentialism, contract law, contract remedies, cost-benefit analysis, moral constraints, normaitve ethics, threshold deontology, welfare economics

JEL Classification: A11, A12, A13, D61, D63, D78, K00, K12, K31

Accepted Paper Series