Efficient legal rules are central to efficient resource allocation in a market economy. But the question whether the common law actually converges to efficiency in commercial areas has remained empirically untested. We create a data set of 461 state court appellate decisions involving the...

Recommended readings (Machine generated): Ronald H. Coase, 'The Problem of Social Cost', Journal of Law and Economics, III (October), 1-44 (1960) -- Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) -- Jeremy Bentham, Of Laws in General (1782) -- Jeremy Bentham,...

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- Part I: An Analytic Narrative of the Crisis -- 1. The Calm before the Storm: 2001-2006 -- 2. To the Abyss: December 2007-September 2008 -- 3. The Spectre of the Great Depression: October 2008-March 2009 -- 4. Bottoming Out: Spring 2009-Autumn 2009 -- 5....