This thoroughly updated and revised edition of a popular and authoritative reference work introduces the reader to the major concepts and leading contributors in the field of law and economics. The Companion features accessible, informative and provocative entries on all the significant issues, and breaks new ground by bringing together widely dispersed yet theoretically congruent ideas. Following a comprehensive introduction by the editor, the renowned contributors look in detail at several critical areas including: * fundamentals of the law and economics approach * private law and economics * public law and economics * labour law and economics * regulation, taxation and public enterprise * dispute resolution * different sources of the law * economic analysis of a legal problem * classical authors in law and economics. Students and scholars interested in a comprehensive and rigorous overview of the field of law and economics will find this volume to be a unique and welcome resource. The Companion will also have a broad appeal amongst industrial economists and historians of economic thought.

Contents: Introduction Jurgen G. Backhaus Part I: Basics of the Law and Economics Approach 1. Coase Theorem and Transaction Cost Economics in the Law Francesco Parisi 2. Property Rights and their Partitioning Christian Muller and Manfred Tietzel 3. Legal Change in Economic Analysis John N. Drobak and Douglass C. North 4. Positive, Normative and Functional Schools in Law and Economics Francesco Parisi 5. Commons and Anticommons Francesco Parisi and Ben Depoorter Part II: Private Law and Economics 6. The Economics of Tort Law Giuseppe Dari Mattiacci and Francesco Parisi 7. Family Margaret Brinig 8. Inheritance Richard E. Wagner 9. Intellectual Property and the Markets of Ideas Giovanni B. Ramello 10. Incomplete Contracts and Institutions Antonio Nicita and Ugo Pagano Part III: Public Law and Economics 11. Central Bank Zelijko Sevic 12. Constitutional Economics I Francesco Farina 13. Constitutional Economics II Ludwig Van den Hauwe 14. Administrative Law and Economics Jean-Michel Josselin and Alain Marciano 15. Property Thomas J. Miceli 16. The European Union's Institutional Design Elisabetta Croci Angelini 17. Subsidiarity Jurgen G. Backhaus Part IV: Labour Law and Economics 18. Labour Contracts Don Bellante 19. Company Board Representation Jurgen G. Backhaus 20. Employment Security through Dismissal Protection: Market versus Policy Failures Christoph F. Buechtemann and Ulrich Walwei Part V: Regulation, Taxation and Public Enterprise 21. Structures of Public Enterprise Jurgen G. Backhaus 22. Environmental Law and Economics A. Allan Schmid 23. Environmental Policies Choice as an Issue of Informational Efficiency Donatella Porrini 24. Tradeable Emission Rights Edwin Woerdman 25. Regulatory Taxation Jurgen G. Backhaus Part VI: Dispute Resolution 26. Dispute Resolution Thomas J. Miceli Part VI: Different Sources of the Law 27. Judicial Independence Sophie Harnay 28. General Norms and Customs Jean-Michel Josselin and Alain Marciano 29. Science as a Source of Law Peter R. Senn 30. Social Science as a Source of the Law Peter R. Senn 31. Cognitive Science John N. Drobak 32. Connections with Law and Society Research Jurgen G. Backhaus Part VIII: Towards an Ideal Economic Analysis of a Legal Problem 33. Towards an Ideal Economic Analysis of a Legal Problem Jurgen G. Backhaus Part IX: Classical Authors in Law and Economics 34. Cesare Beccaria (1738-94) Francesco Parisi and Giampaolo Frezza 35. Franz Boehm (1895-1977) Heinz Grossekettler 36. John R. Commons (1862-1945) Warren J. Samuels 37. Walter Eucken (1891-1950) Leland B. Yeager 38. Otto von Gierke (1841-1921) Jurgen G. Backhaus 39. Augusto Graziani (1865-1938) Giampaolo Frezza and Francesco Parisi 40. Robert Lee Hale (1884-1969) - Legal Economist Nicholas Mercuro, Steven G. Medema and Warren J. Samuels 41. Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992) Ludwig Van den Hauwe 42. Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) Peter R. Senn 43. Rudolf von Jhering (1818-92) and the Economics of Justice J.L.M. Elders 44. Franz Klein (1854-1926) Peter Lewisch 45. Etienne Laspeyres (1834-1913) Wolfgang Drechsler 46. Friedrich List (1789-1846) Arno Mong Daastoel 47. Achille Loria (1857-1943) Giampaolo Frezza and Francesco Parisi 48. Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95) Heath Pearson 49. Carl Menger (1840-1921) Richard E. Wagner 50. Plato (c. 427-349 BC) Wolfgang Drechsler 51. Wilhelm Roscher (1817-94) Erich Streissler 52. Emil Sax (1845-1927) Manfred Prisching 53. Gustav von Schmoller (1838-1917) Helge Peukert 54. Adam Smith (1723-90) Helge Peukert 55. Werner Sombart (1863-1941) Gunther Chaloupek 56. Lorenz von Stein (1815-90) Heinz Grossekettler 57. George Joseph Stigler (1911-92) Peter R. Senn 58. Pietro Trimarchi (1934-) Giampaolo Frezza and Francesco Parisi 59. Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) Heath Pearson 60. Max Weber (1864-1920) Helge Peukert 61. Christian Wolff (1679-1754) Wolfgang Drechsler Index