This chapter surveys major issues arising in the economic analysis of contract law. It begins with an introductory discussion of scope and methodology, and then addresses four main topics that correspond to the major doctrinal divisions of the law of contracts. These divisions include freedom of...

The Brussels Ia Regulation leaves businesses no feasible option for a choice of jurisdiction in cross-border B2C contracts. The recent judgment by the European Court of Justice in the Ryanair case confirms that the Court will not tolerate any attempts to circumvent the regulatory aim of...

A party dissatisfied with the contractual performance of a counterparty is typically able to pursue a variety of legal recourses. Within this apparent variety lurk two fundamental alternatives. The aggrieved party may (i) 'affirm' the contract and seek money damages or specific performance; or...

In the midst of globalization and liberalization fever, the people are grooming with wide-range of information even before the age of majority. However, the Indian Contract Act envisages that the minors are incompetent to hold any form of contracts. This paper is concern only with minor in...

Naidu and Yuchtman (2013) find that labor demand shocks in 19th-century Britain had an impact on master and servant prosecutions, as breaking an employee contract was a criminal offense until 1875. We first reproduce all regression tables in Naidu and Yuchtman (2013) and then test for robustness...

Are zero hours contracts lawful? This note responds to the DBIS consultation on banning exclusivity clauses (August 2014). It asks the following: what is a zero hours contract? To what extent are zero hours contracts legal? Why have zero hours contracts spread? And finally, what is the right...

American courts operate under the strong presumptions that the Federal Arbitration Act makes nearly all claims arbitrable and nearly all arbitration agreements enforceable. However, the FAA Section 2 provides that arbitration agreements shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon...

Contractual choice offers one vision of autonomy for workers. But contractual choice is a narrow and manipulable conception of choice. Contractual choices often conflict with other kinds of choice, such as democratic choices and life choices. This commentary responds to the Future of Work in the...

Businesses and sophisticated parties have long used “contract exchanges,” like the Chicago Board of Trade, to obtain a fair price and protect themselves from market volatility. These contract exchanges have greatly benefitted both their participants and the public at large, but participation...