This chapter presents a brief preview for this book Handbook of Law and Economics Volume 1 . The book provides economists with a systematic introduction and survey of research in the field of law and economics. The book contains 22 chapters and is organized into three main parts. Part I deals...

This chapter surveys the theory of the public enforcement of law—the use of governmental agents (regulators, inspectors, tax auditors, police, prosecutors) to detect and to sanction violators of legal rules. The theoretical core of the analysis addresses the following basic questions: Should...

This is a survey of legal liability for accidents. Three general aspects of accident liability are addressed. The first is the effect of liability on incentives, both whether to engage in activities (for instance, whether to drive) and how much care to exercise (at what speed to travel) to...