Deontological Morality and Economic Analysis of Law

Welfare economics—the normative branch of economics—is a consequentialist moral theory. Unlike deontological morality, at least in its basic form it attributes no intrinsic value to prohibitions on active or intentional harming of other people, lying, or promise breaking, and does not allow people to prioritize their own interests over the overall good.This contribution to the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics critically examines several methods of incorporating deontological constraints and options into welfare economics, including economic analysis of law