Alternative Behavioral Law and Economics

The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law (E. Zamir & D. Teichman, editors, 2014)

Virginia Law and Economics Research Paper No. 2017-14

26 Pages Posted: 25 May 2017 Last revised: 12 Jun 2017

See all articles by Gregory Mitchell

Gregory Mitchell

University of Virginia School of Law

Date Written: 2017

Abstract

This chapter considers the psychological, methodological, and normative paths taken by behavioral law and economics ("BLE") and alternative paths that BLE might have taken, and might still take. The counterfactual BLE imagined here stresses the B in BLE, with behavioral approaches to legal problems being the focus rather than advocacy of any particular basic model of human cognition and motivation to compete with L&E’s dominant model. This change in focus would give priority to empirical studies in which particular legal institutions and specific legal tasks are simulated or studied in situ rather than to studies of abstract and general judgment and decision-making problems that may provide more theoretical bang but have less applied payoff in specific legal contexts.

Keywords: behavioral law and economics, heuristics and biases, judgment and decision-making, rational choice

Suggested Citation

Mitchell, Gregory, Alternative Behavioral Law and Economics (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law (E. Zamir & D. Teichman, editors, 2014), Virginia Law and Economics Research Paper No. 2017-14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2973957

Gregory Mitchell (Contact Author)

University of Virginia School of Law ( email )

580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
434-243-4088 (Phone)

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