"Introduction" [2012] ELECD 88; in Sanchirico, William Chris (ed), "Procedural Law and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Procedural Law and Economics

Editor(s): Sanchirico, William Chris

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847208248

Section Title: Introduction

Number of pages: 4

Extract:

Introduction


This volume of the Encyclopedia of Law and Economics gathers entries
on the main issues covered in the scholarly, economics-based literature
on litigation, procedure, and evidence. This second edition of the volume
includes several new entries. Some of these bridge gaps in the first edition;
others reflect significant new trends in research. Moreover, several entries
that appeared in the first edition have been substantially refined and
updated to reflect the many new contributions that have been put forward
in the decade since the first edition was published.
Lawyer-economists began studying procedure and evidence in earnest
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The earliest contributions include
Landes (1971), Gould (1973), and Posner (1973) ­ all of which were
influenced by Becker (1968). The issues raised in these early contributions
became the chief focal points of the ensuing four decades of scholarship in
the area. These issues are covered in detail in this volume. Thus, Andrew
Daughety and Jennifer Reinganum's chapter, "Settlement", concerns the
vast theoretical literature on pre-trial bargaining. Reflecting advances in
this research area over time, Daughety and Reinganum frame their analy-
sis within the general conceptual taxonomy of game theory, thus helping
the reader to understand what does and does not distinguish bargaining
in the litigation context from bargaining in other areas. Likewise, Avery
Katz and Chris Sanchirico's chapter, "Fee Shifting", considers another
classic issue: how varying rules for allocating the cost of litigation among
the litigating parties affects potential plaintiffs' incentives to ...