Economics, Society and Law

Economics tries to explain many aspects of human behavior. Likewise, law attempts to regulate multiple facets of our lives. This course bridges the two disciplines to develop an understanding of the ways in which societies function and regulate themselves. Law will act as an interface that will show how behavioral theories can apply to real-life situations.

The course will acquaint students with several principal theories of institutional and behavioral economics such as rational choice theory, group behavior and principal-agent relations. It will also cover the critique of the above theories. Through the course, we will apply the theories to a number of topics, concerning the organization of society and the state.

Those topics include the following: Family and Property, State and Sovereignty, Capitalism and Democracy, Regulation in a Capitalist Economy, Balancing the Competing Interests, the Impact of Economic Crises, Migration, and Internet Governance. They will be illustrated by examples from the case-law of the Russian, US and international courts. The course can serve as a stepping stone to further studies in Law and Economics.