13959 - Law and Economics Modulübersicht

Module Number: 13959
Module Title:Law and Economics
  Recht und Wirtschaft
Department: Faculty 5 - Business, Law and Social Sciences
Responsible Staff Member:
  • Prof. Dr. oec. habil. Schnellenbach, Jan
Language of Teaching / Examination:English
Duration:1 semester
Frequency of Offer: Each winter semester odd year
Credits: 6
Learning Outcome:Students will gain an overview of the field of economic analysis of law, which involves analyzing legal rules from the perspective of economic theory. It focuses on the interaction of legal norms with the actions of private households and companies, as well as the impact of constitutional law on government actions. Students should learn to analyze legal norms in terms of their efficiency and economic effects, including microeconomic efficiency, as well as growth and distribution effects. They should also be able to assess why specific legal norms have developed historically as we know them today.
Contents:
  1. Fundamentals of the theory of private property rights
    a) Historical development of private property
    b) Theories of the emergence of private property rights
    c) Economic analysis of common-pool resources
    d) Property rights in intangible assets
  2. Economic analysis of contract law
    a) Complete and incomplete contracts
    b) Moral hazard and adverse selection
    c) Efficient responses to contract breaches
  3. Economic analysis of tort law
    a) The Coase theorem
    b) Economic analysis of liability rules
  4. Economic analysis of criminal law
    a) Differentiating between tort law and criminal law
    b) Deterrence effects of criminal law
    c) Optimal deterrence effects
  5. Constitutional economics
    a) Fundamentals of the economic theory of public law
    b) Empirical analysis of the economic effects of constitutional rules
Recommended Prerequisites:Basic knowledge of microeconomics
Mandatory Prerequisites:None
Forms of Teaching and Proportion:
  • Lecture / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Exercise / 2 Hours per Week per Semester
  • Self organised studies / 120 Hours
Teaching Materials and Literature:H. Schäfer and C. Ott, Lehrbuch der ökonomischen Analyse des Zivilrechts, 5th edition, Heidelberg: Springer, 2012
Additional articles and book chapters announced during the lecture
Module Examination:Continuous Assessment (MCA)
Assessment Mode for Module Examination:
  • Term paper with a maximum of 15,000 characters including spaces (equivalent to approximately 6 pages); (50% of the total grade)
  • Exam, 40 minutes (50% of the total grade)


Evaluation of Module Examination:Performance Verification – graded
Limited Number of Participants:None
Part of the Study Programme:
  • Master (research-oriented) / Betriebswirtschaftslehre / PO 2017
  • Master (research-oriented) / Environmental and Resource Management / PO 2011
  • Master (research-oriented) - Double Degree / Environmental and Resource Management / PO 2021
  • Master (research-oriented) / Environmental and Resource Management / PO 2021
  • Master (research-oriented) / Transformation Studies / PO 2024
  • Master (research-oriented) / Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen / PO 2025
Remarks:None
Module Components:Law & Economics Lecture - 2 hours per week
Law & Economics Exercise - 2 hours per week
Components to be offered in the Current Semester:
  • no assignment