Abstract

 


 



Endogenous Institutions: Law as a Coordinating Device


Gillian Hadfield


USC Law School and Department of Economics

Barry R. Weingast


Stanford University - The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

November 1, 2011

USC CLEO Research Paper No. C11-20
USC Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-28

Abstract:     
Scholars widely agree that long-term economic growth requires a legal system providing for rule of law, contract enforcement and impersonal exchange. In this paper, we address a piece of this broad issue by studying the question, what is law? Drawing on other work (Hadfield & Weingast 2011), we argue that law has developed its distinctive structure, at least in part, to coordinate beliefs among diverse individuals and thus improve the efficacy of decentralized rule enforcement systems. In this paper we apply the framework of this coordination account of law to the emergence of medieval contract law and to constitutional law.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 51

Keywords: legal theory, institutions, law and development, constitutional law, law merchant, coordination games

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Date posted: November 24, 2011 ; Last revised: December 8, 2011

Suggested Citation

Hadfield, Gillian K. and Weingast, Barry R., Endogenous Institutions: Law as a Coordinating Device (November 1, 2011). USC Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-28. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1963451

Contact Information

Gillian K. Hadfield (Contact Author)
USC Law School and Department of Economics ( email )
699 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States
213-821-6793 (Phone)
213-740-5502 (Fax)
Barry R. Weingast
Stanford University - The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace ( email )
Stanford, CA 94305-6010
United States
650-723-0497 (Phone)
650-723-1808 (Fax)
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