The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract

by Buckley, Francis H.

• ISBN13: 9780822323334
• ISBN10: 0822323338
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

"One of the most notable trends in recent legal scholarship is the reinvigoration of the contract paradigm, and these original papers by some of the most distinguished North American law-and-economics scholars make a strong case for the virtues of contractarianism across a wide spectrum of legal specialties, including contract law, tort law, family law, bankruptcy, and private international law. The commentaries developnuanced concepts, such as efficiency-enhancing limitations on contractual freedom. This important, impressive, and timely collection, accessible to a wide audience, should become the standard reference on free bargaining and contractarianism."--Thomas S. Ulen, University of Illinois College of Law

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(24)
F. H. BUCKLEY
I Free Bargaining and Formalism	25	(94)
Contracts Small and Contract Large: Contract Law through the Lens of Laissez-Faire	25	(36)
RICHARD A. EPSTEIN
The Decline of Formality in Contract Law	61	(17)
ERIC A. POSNER
External Critiques of Laissez-Faire Contract Values	78	(15)
MICHAEL J. TREBILCOCK
In Defense of the Old Order	93	(10)
TIMOTHY J. MURIS
The Limits of Freedom of Contract in the Age of Laissez-Faire Constitutionalism	103	(16)
GREGORY S. ALEXANDER
II Bargaining around Tort Law	119	(38)
Courts and the Tort-Contract Boundary in Product Liability	119	(20)
PAUL H. RUBIN
Commodifying Liability	139	(18)
ROBERT COOTER
III Contracting for Land Use Law	157	(44)
Zoning by Private Contract	157	(20)
ROBERT H. NELSON
Dealing with the NIMBY Problem	177	(7)
WILLIAM A. FISCHEL
Devolutionary Proposals and Contractarian Principles	184	(8)
STEVEN J. EAGLE
The (Limited) Ability of Urban Neighbors to Contract for the Provision of Local Public Goods	192	(9)
ROBERT C. ELLICKSON
IV Free Bargaining in Family Law	201	(80)
A Contract Theory of Marriage	201	(44)
ELIZABETH S. SCOTT
ROBERT E. SCOTT
Marriage as a Signal	245	(11)
MICHAEL J. TREBILCOCK
Family Law and Social Norms	256	(19)
ERIC A. POSNER
Contracting around No-Fault Divorce	275	(6)
MARGARET E. BRINIG
V Bargaining around Bankruptcy Reorganization Law	281	(44)
Contracting for Bankruptcy Systems	281	(20)
ALAN SCHWARTZ
Free Contracting in Bankruptcy	301	(10)
F. H. BUCKLEY
Free Contracting in Bankruptcy at Home and Abroad	311	(14)
ROBERT K. RASMUSSEN
VI Choosing Law by Contract	325	(62)
Contract and Jurisdictional Freedom	325	(24)
BRUCE H. KOBAYASHI
LARRY E. RIBSTEIN
A Comment on Contract and Jurisdictional Competition	349	(8)
MICHAEL KLAUSNER
Choice of Law as a Precommitment Device	357	(13)
GEOFFREY P. MILLER
Corporate Law as the Paradigm for Contractual Choice of Law	370	(17)
ROBERTA ROMANO
Notes	387	(70)
Contributors	457	(2)
Index	459