Remedies, Meet Economics; Economics, Meet Remedies

Abstract

One would expect the fields of ‘law and economics’ and ‘remedies’ to have substantial interaction. But scholars in each field largely ignore those in the other. Thus law and economics scholars blunder in their description of the law of remedies, and remedies scholars are cut off from economic insights. For scholars who are in these fields, this article offers a critique, as well as suggestions for cooperation. For all legal scholars interested in melding conceptual and economic analysis, it offers a cautionary tale of disciplinary fragmentation.

Keywords: remedies, law and economics, damages, equity, restitution, unjust enrichment, injunction, property rules, liability rules, the Cathedral

JEL Classification: K10, K12, K13, K40, K41, K42, K49