Law and Economics (Themes in Economics) (Oxford in India Readings. Readers in Economics)

Economic analysis of law has been preoccupied by considerations of efficiency and often regards values and individual preferences to be independent of social institutions. This volume analyzes the flaws in such an approach by pointing out the incommensurability of fundamental societal values in the context of the institutional structure. Given that individual preferences and values and social values impact each other in the context of an institutional structure, the book recognizes that a comprehensive theory of law must contend with (i) whether the institutional structure admits an equilibrium of individual and social values; and (ii) if there is an equilibrium, then what the extent of divergence is under it between the realized social values and the desired values.