Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

This course will consider a range of issues in empirical law and economics. Empirical methods are increasingly used in legal practice and policy. The aim of this course will be to give students a sense of the empirical methods that have been applied to the study of legal issues, the key issues to which such methods have been applied, and how to evaluate and criticize such empirical studies. Among the subjects we may cover are empirical work on policing and crime, judges” decision, discrimination, corporate governance, and securities litigation. Special attention will be given to efforts to identify causality. Some session will feature speakers who do current empirical research.

Readings will be mainly from articles in law reviews and economics or finance journals.

Note: The course will not meet on all Wednesdays and Thursdays during the semester. Rather, it will meet for twelve 2-hour sessions which will take place during the first two months of the semester and take place during the time slot of the course.