On the Columbia Law School website I came across this article about a recent lecture there by Richard Posner.
Posner is one of the most famous proponents of the law and economics/economic analysis of law theory associated with the University of Chicago, and for the duration of his career has advocated free market-based approaches to making law.
According to the article, Posner blames the free market system for the current economic crisis, admitting that it is indeed a "painful acknowledgement" for him, and I will admit that it is something of a surprise for the rest of us, given he has spent his career propounding as little regulation as possible, and (perhaps somewhat facetiously) markets in goods such as human babies.
Nevertheless, his critiques about rational actors could well be accommodated in a welfare economics based theory like that of Louis Kaplow which could still support competitive markets, albeit with more regulation than Posner may have supported up until now. I don't think that the disproval of rationality as a benefit to the system necessarily leads to the thesis that capitalism as a whole has failed.
Posner is one of the most famous proponents of the law and economics/economic analysis of law theory associated with the University of Chicago, and for the duration of his career has advocated free market-based approaches to making law.
According to the article, Posner blames the free market system for the current economic crisis, admitting that it is indeed a "painful acknowledgement" for him, and I will admit that it is something of a surprise for the rest of us, given he has spent his career propounding as little regulation as possible, and (perhaps somewhat facetiously) markets in goods such as human babies.
Nevertheless, his critiques about rational actors could well be accommodated in a welfare economics based theory like that of Louis Kaplow which could still support competitive markets, albeit with more regulation than Posner may have supported up until now. I don't think that the disproval of rationality as a benefit to the system necessarily leads to the thesis that capitalism as a whole has failed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment