Law and Economics ECON B330-001 Fall 2021 (August 23 – December 17) Class hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 12:30-1:20 p.m. Course Location: MI 208 Instructor: Dr. Walter E. Block Office Location: Miller Hall 318 Phone: (504) 864-7934 Email: [email protected] Office hours: Wednesday: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. In addition to these formal office hours, I will be available most days of the week. If by odd chance none of these hours are convenient, a mutually agreeable appointment can always be made. I am very available for student consultation and willing to give as much time as is needed for questions, discussion, dialogue. Terms of Use A student's continued enrollment in this course signifies acknowledgment of and agreement with the statements, disclaimers, policies, and procedures outlined within this syllabus and elsewhere in the Canvas environment. This Syllabus is a dynamic document. Elements of the course structure (e.g., dates and topics covered, but not policies) may be changed at the discretion of the professor. College of Business Mission Statement The mission of the Loyola College of Business is to educate and empower ethical innovators who work with and for others to solve local and global problems. We teach conceptual, technical, and professional skills through engaging experiences that leverage New Orleans’ community and creative spirit. Course Description This course is an economic analysis used to consider the effects of legal rules upon people’s actions. Alternative rules are considered, with particular attention paid to the differing effects each is likely to have on the structure of incentives, and thus on human actions. The goal of this course will be to explore the various schools of thought regarding the field of law and economics. Included in our purview are the following: Marxism, left communitarianism and feminism (e.g., the Critical Legal Studies movement), conservatism, modern liberalism, 1 classical liberalism and libertarianism. This is a course in economics, not law; I am an economist, not a lawyer. This course might have been called “Topics in microeconomics.” It will be in effect an intermediate course in microeconomics, where virtually all of the examples emanate from the field of law. Prerequisites: ECON B200 and ECON B201 with grade of C or better in both Expected Student Course Learning Objectives • understand the tragedy of commons • distinguish between positive and negative externalities • apply supply and demand analysis to economic issues • analyze the effect of government policy on the market • distinguish between normative and positive economics The Canvas System & Technical Help You MUST be familiar with Canvas. It is your responsibility to learn how to navigate Canvas and to check it daily. Students should use their own secure login and password for Canvas to complete all coursework and assignments on an individual basis. You must check Canvas daily for any updates and announcements. Canvas keeps accurate records and all claims are verified with the Canvas Administrator. False claims, such as false Canvas issues, are considered cheating and will be pursued to the maximum extent possible. You are responsible for your computer and internet connection. A faulty internet connection or computer system crash does not excuse you from completing assignment or exam. You MUST check the connection and functionality of your computer before you begin working on assignment, exam, or other coursework. For Canvas help, you can chat with Canvas Support (Student) or call Canvas Support Hotline (866-932-6945) by clicking Help on the global navigation menu in your Canvas account. Please see the screenshot below. 2 You can also visit Canvas Student Guide page, or Canvas video tutorials for students, or contact Loyola's Online Learning Team (OLT) by sending an email to [email protected]. Grades: Your term grade will be determined on the basis of total points scored Midterm Exam 100 Edit Term Paper (of buddy) 30 Term Paper 70 Class Presentation 20 Homeworks, Quizzes 50 Final Exam 100 ----------------------------------------- ___ Total 370 For the Fall 2021 semester, we are scheduled to meet face-to-face on campus in the classroom, ordinary written exams will be given during this time. Otherwise, if the course is moved online via Zoom for any reason throughout the semester, all exams will be given in a one to one Zoom meeting between me and a student, one at a time. Students editing each other’s papers will only be instituted if we are meeting on campus face-to-face in the classroom. Grading Scale: I use the following grading scale: A 93-100; A-90-92; B+ 88-89; B 83-87; B-80-82; C+ 78-79; C 73-77; C-70-72; D+ 68-69; D 60-67; F 59 and below. I do not send or discuss your grade by email. I do not discuss your grade unless your grade is a result of calculation error. 3 Note: The points you may see on Canvas may not always align with the Instructor’s actual gradebook. Required Readings: Rothbard, Murray N. 1982. "Law, Property Rights, and Air Pollution," Cato Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring; reprinted in Economics and the Environment: A Reconciliation, Walter Block, ed., Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1990, pp. 233-279. http://www.mises.org/rothbard/lawproperty.pdf Robin Paul Malloy, Law and Economics Isbn 0-314-72586-5 Here is a review of this book: http://repository.law.ttu.edu/bitstream/handle/10601/194/weninger6.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed =y Lysander Spooner, No Treason http://www.lysanderspooner.org/notreason.htm isbn 0-87926-017-3 Frederic Bastiat, The Law http://mises.org/story/2060#1; http://mises.org/books/thelaw.pdf Kinsella, N. Stephan. 2001. “Against Intellectual Property,” Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, Winter, pp. 1-53; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/15_2/15_2_1.pdf Coase, Ronald H. 1960. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, 3:1-44 http://www.sfu.ca/~allen/CoaseJLE1960.pdf; http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:uK41D38mFE0J:www.sfu.ca/~allen/CoaseJLE1960.pdf+ The+Problem+of+Social+Cost&hl=en Recommended Readings: I. Here is a five-part debate over property rights (the underpinning of all law and economic issues, at least according to one of the perspectives we shall be discussing this semester) which is supplementary to the Coase and Rothbard papers: 1. Block, Walter. 1977. "Coase and Demsetz on Private Property Rights," The Journal of Libertarian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Review, Vol. I, No. 2, Spring, pp. 111-115, http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/1_2/1_2_4.pdf; reprint translation: “Coase y Demsetz sobre el derecho de propiedad privada,” Libertas 37, octubre de 2002, año XIX, pp.5-20. 2. Demsetz, Harold. 1979. "Ethics and Efficiency in Property Rights Systems," in Time, Uncertainty and Disequilibrium: Explorations of Austrian Themes, Mario Rizzo, ed., Lexington Mass.: D.C. Heath and Co. 4 3. Block, Walter. 1995. "Ethics, Efficiency, Coasean Property Rights and Psychic Income: A Reply to Demsetz," Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 61-125, http://www.mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae8_2_4.pdf; reprint translation: “Ética, eficiencia, derechos de propiedad Coasianos e ingreso psíquico: una respuesta a Demsetz,” Libertas 37, octubre de 2002, año XIX, pp. 71-210 4. Demsetz, Harold. 1997. "Block’s Erroneous Interpretations," Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 101-110; http://www.mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/rae10_2_6.pdf 5. Block, Walter. 2000. “Private Property Rights, Erroneous Interpretations, Morality and Economics: Reply to Demsetz,” Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring, pp. 63-78; http://www.mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae3_1_8.pdf II. Hate speech: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/02/praise-vallaud-belkacem-hate-speech- twitter III. Naming laws http://news.yahoo.com/icelandic-girl-fights-her-own-name-074758814.html IV. Newspaper releases names of pistol permit holders http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/readers-divided-on-news-sites-map-of-gun- permit-holders/ V. Gun control, Second amendment Lott, Jr., John R. 1998. More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Chicago: University of Chicago Press VI. Free speech, First amendment Mill, John Stuart. 1947 [1859]. On Liberty, Northbrook, IL: Ahm Publishing, especially p. 36; http://www.bartleby.com/130/; starting with this quote: “Even in natural philosophy, there is always some other explanation possible of the same facts; some geocentric theory instead of heliocentric, some phlogiston instead of oxygen; and it has to be shown why that other theory cannot be the true one: and until this is shown, and until we know how it is shown, we do not understand the grounds of our opinion.” VII. Tampering with condoms http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canada-court-consensual-sex-sex-assault-if-you-tamper-with- the-condom ws.nationalpost.com/2013/01/03/craig-jaret-hutchinson-loses-sexual-assault-appeal/ 5 http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/38938-man-sentenced-18-months-piercing-condoms VIII. Legality of no-fly list http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/04/first-man-on-canadas-no-fly-list-denied-legal-funding- for-court-fight/ IX. http://libertycrier.com/government/kansas-seeks-to-undermine-lesbian-couples-parental- status-demands-that-sperm-donor-pay-child- support/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LibertyCrier +%28Liberty+Crier%29 X. drugs: http://libertycrier.com/government/obama-administration-throwing-medical-marijuana- patients-into-federal-prison-at-unprecedented-rate/ Block, Walter, Stephan Kinsella and Roy Whitehead. 2006. “The duty to defend advertising injuries caused by junk faxes: an analysis of privacy, spam, detection and blackmail.” Whittier Law Review, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 925-949; http://www.walterblock.com/wp- content/uploads/publications/block-etal_spam_whittier-2006.pdf; http://www.walterblock.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/faxesduty.pdf Block, Walter E.