This paper (1) investigates Hayek's proposition that law in the sense of universal rules of conduct and property are the only solution to the problem of reconciling indi-vidual freedom with the absence of conflict. It (2) argues that the test of the compatibility with the inherited body of law...

Drawing on a new analytical framework provided by the economic theory of optimal legal areas, this paper identifies the factors determining the optimal size of the European Union. It applies this theory to the question of how enlargement affects the welfare of the current and the new members of...

Ius Commune describes the spontaneous development of a european contract law by adaptive behavior of contracting parties to competing law systems and their interpretations by jursidiction. The idea of spontaneous law harmonization is appealing, since its result is independent of centraized...

The paper demonstrates the economic consequences of a new EU directive that introduces resale rights in all member states. The lifetime income of young, unknwon artists is likely to shrink, despite the intention of the EU to increase their income. Even if the lifetime income were increasing, the...

According to a new European Union directive, artists, whose works are resold, are entitled to a share of the sales price. The principal aim of this initiative is to let the artists participate in the economic success of their work. Our analysis shows that the new directive is most likely to...

This paper analyzes "property rights" from a Law and Economics viewpoint. It deals with the relation between "property rights" and allocative efficiency as well as with the protection of "property rights" through damages, liability rules or criminal law. Moreover, market failures (monopoly,...

By a proposal to introduce a harmonized "droit de suite", the European Comission intends to improve the economic situation of young artists. A simple price theoretical argument shows that this goal is not likely to be reached. In addition to this, the paper analyzes the efficiency of a legal...

Law and economics in Germany was dominated by regulation, competition, and 'German Ordnungspolitik' until the early 1970s. Since then, German scholars have published a broad body of work in German and in the English language, covering fields like contract law, environmental law, labor law,...