POSNERIAN RHAPSODY: THE ROLE OF THE COASE THEOREM IN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW

· This paper examines the evolving role played by the Coase theorem over the several editions of Richard Posner’s Economic Analysis of Law. In doing so, the paper shows both the grounding of Posner’s efficiency norm in the theorem’s logic and his growing emphasis on the theorem’s invariance claim as its key feature. While Posner’s analysis in the book relies increasingly on the Coase theorem over time, its role became much more that of a thought construct, or benchmark for legal reasoning, than an operational proposition about legal adjudication.

Duke Scholars

Author Steven G. Medema Economics