Austrian Perspectives in Law and Economics

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to describe and analyze the Austrian approach to law and economics within the context of the law and economics discipline. The important and distinctive feature of the Austrian approach is the emphasis on economic and legal processes. We focus on four themes within the Austrian approach to law and economics: the spontaneous origin of legal institutions; the analysis of implications of ignorance, decentralization of knowledge, and static and dynamic uncertainty; the interaction between the changes in legal institutions and the market process and coordination; and entrepreneurship in market and non-market settings.