LAW AND ECONOMICS - 2021/2
Module code: LAW2084
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in a departure from previous academic years and previously published information, the University has had to change the delivery (and in some cases the content) of its programmes, together with certain University services and facilities for the academic year 2020/21.
These changes include the implementation of a hybrid teaching approach during 2020/21. Detailed information on all changes is available at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/coronavirus/course-changes. This webpage sets out information relating to general University changes, and will also direct you to consider additional specific information relating to your chosen programme.
Prior to registering online, you must read this general information and all relevant additional programme specific information. By completing online registration, you acknowledge that you have read such content, and accept all such changes.
Module Overview
This module will introduce students to law and economics—a robust intellectual movement devoted to the use of economic concepts and methods to analyse and evaluate legal rules. The module will begin by introducing the normative framework of the law-and-economics movement, explaining how it developed from classical utilitarian thinking. Basic microeconomic concepts will be presented along with the Coase Theorem, which initiated the modern law-and-economics movement. The module will then engage a number of specific legal areas from the point of view of law-and-economics, including property, contracts, torts, and criminal law. Throughout, the module will also raise various philosophical and jurisprudential criticisms of the law-and-economics movement.
Module provider
School of Law
Module Leader
TAGGART Christopher (Schl of Law)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 5
JACs code: M200
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Module Availability
Semester 2
Module content
Indicative content includes:
The history and aims of the law and economics movement
Conceptions of utility
Price theory
Assumptions about rationality in neoclassical economics
Behavioralism
Choice architecture and default legal rules as nudges
Critiques of law and economics from jurisprudential, egalitarian, and critical perspectives
Assessment pattern
Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
---|---|---|
Coursework | 3000 WORD COURSEWORK | 100 |
Alternative Assessment
N/A
Assessment Strategy
The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:
Knowledge of the history and aims of the law and economics movement
A grasp of basic economic concepts and methods
The ability to engage in simple economic analysis of legal rules
An understanding of criticisms of the law and economics movement
Reflection on the question of what role economic analysis should play in the evaluation of legal rules
The summative assessment for this module consists of one 3,000-word coursework exercise.
A formative assessment and feedback will also be provided before the coursework prompt is distributed.
Module aims
- Inculcate knowledge of the history and aims of the law and economics movement.
- Induce critical reflection of the question of what role economic analysis ought to have in the evaluation of development of legal rules.
- Enable students to confidently and accurately deploy economic concepts in written and verbal communication.
- Teach students to use economic methods to produce their own analyses of legal rules.
Learning outcomes
Attributes Developed | ||
---|---|---|
001 | Demonstrate critical knowledge of the history and aims of the law and economics movement | K |
002 | Accurately deploy basic economic concepts in written and verbal communication | CPT |
003 | Reflect thoughtfully on the question of what role economic analysis should play in the evaluation or creation of legal rules | CPT |
004 | Use economic methods to analyse the likely effects of legal rules | KCPT |
005 | Evaluate legal rules in economic terms | KCPT |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Overall student workload
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:
Require students to learn economic principles as a mode of analysis rather than as a body of knowledge.
Inspire reflection on the foundational assumptions of conventional economic analysis and on critiques.
The learning and teaching methods include:
Lecture
Discussion
Tutorial exercises involving the creation and manipulation of economic models
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.
Reading list
https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: LAW2084
Programmes this module appears in
Programme | Semester | Classification | Qualifying conditions |
---|---|---|---|
Law LLB (Hons) | 2 | Optional | A weighted aggregate mark of 40% is required to pass the module |
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.