Legal Theory, Legal History, & the Social Sciences

Law & Economics

NYU Law has a cadre of full-time faculty who make law and economics a primary focus of their work. Their approaches to economic analysis are diverse: theoretical, quantitative, empirical, and experimental. Several of our faculty are lawyer-economists, and a number of them hold leadership positions in the Society for Empirical Legal Studies and the American Law & Economics Assocation. Some, such as Lewis Kornhauser, have played central roles in the development of Law and Economics as a field.

Several centers and institutes are led by Law and Economics faculty. The Center for Law, Economics, and Organization promotes interdisciplinary research and teaching in law and economics. Its director, Jennifer Arlen ’86, is a leading proponent of empirical analysis of legal issues, as is Geoffrey Miller, who also co-directs the Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement with Arlen. Scott Hemphill, whose research focuses on the law and economics of competition and innovation, is a faculty director of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy. Dean Emeritus Richard Revesz, an expert on cost-benefit analysis, directs the Institute for Policy Integrity. Stephen Choi, whose research interests focus on the theoretical and empirical analysis of corporations and capital markets, is director of the Pollack Center for Law & Business

The depth of scholarship in law and economics is further increased by affiliated and visiting faculty. Portfolio manager Alan Rechtschaffen teaches Financial Instruments and the Capital Markets, and leading economists, such as Daniel Rubinfeld, Alan Auerbach, and Alan Viard, participate in the intellectual life of the Law School, as do faculty from NYU’s Stern School of Business. Scholarly ideas are also regularly exchanged by all at the Behavioral Economics and Public Policy Workshop, the Law & Economics External Workshop, and the Law & Economics Workshop.

The economic analysis of law is taught throughout the standard curriculum as well as in advanced courses and several colloquia. There are the Colloquium on Law and Economics; the Colloquium on Law, Economics, and Politics; the Innovation Policy Colloquium; and the Tax Policy Colloquium. NYU School of Law students can also cross-register for courses within the economics department, the Stern School of Business, the Department of Politics, and the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

The Law School offers joint degrees in law and economics, as well as fellowships such as the Lawrence Lederman Fellowships in Law and Economics, the Furman Academic Fellowship Program, and the Wagner Fellowship in Law & Business.