Hofstra Law Review Volume 20 | Issue 4 Article 2 1992 The rT oubles with Law and Economics Leonard R. Jaffee Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Jaffee, Leonard R. (1992) "The rT oubles with Law and Economics," Hofstra Law Review: Vol. 20: Iss. 4, Article 2. Available at: http://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlr/vol20/iss4/2 This document is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hofstra Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Jaffee: The Troubles with Law and Economics THE TROUBLES WITH LAW AND ECONOMICS Leonard 1? Jaffee* In this Article's first Part, the author sets Law and Economics' own devices against its fundamental proposition: In free contractual pursuit of personal wealth, we find the best means of serving nearly all of our legitimate interpersonaland social interests. Using the classic "efficient breach" case as paradigm, Profes- sor Jaffee argues that all contracts cases defy judgment of whether agreement or breach is efficient-that every such case is intractably ambiguous and threatens inefficient or vagrant costs, profits, or demoralization. He offers instead specific performance as the pre- ferred remedy for breach of contract. He argues that neither ex ante nor ex post contractual adjustments-whether toward an agreed remedy like liquidated damages or modification of obliga- tion-sufficiently resolve such cases or stay their threats, since we cannot ever know what is needed to compensate properly.