What is Forensic Economics?

Abstract

This working paper provides an overview of the concept and practice of forensic economics by discussing four questions concerning the domain of this discipline. The first question asks whether forensic economics is a practical or academic enterprise, or both. The second one concerns the types of legal decisions that forensic economics informs, including three separate stages of law enforcement and the distinction between questions of fact and law. The third question relates to the fields of law to which forensic economics applies with special attention to tort damages and antitrust. And the fourth one regards the position of the people who carry out the forensic-economic analyses outside of or within an enforcement body.

Keywords: forensic economics, competition law, damages, questions of fact, evidence, expert testimony

JEL Classification: K13, K21, K42