> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://laurence-wilse-samson.gitbook.io/textbooks/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://laurence-wilse-samson.gitbook.io/textbooks/law-and-econ/readme.md).

# Introduction

**Laurence Wilse-Samson**

> **In progress, last updated November 2026.** One of 22 textbooks freely readable online ([all books](https://lwilsesamson.com/textbooks/)), all written with AI assistance. All rights reserved. Corrections are welcome at <laurence@lwilsesamson.com>.

***

## About This Book

This textbook provides a rigorous introduction to law and economics for advanced undergraduates. It assumes familiarity with intermediate microeconomics and basic statistics, but no prior legal training or game theory.

The book integrates economic theory with legal doctrine, empirical evidence, and practical applications. Each chapter includes:

* **Core concepts** with doctrinal anchors
* **Formal models** illustrating key mechanisms
* **Empirical Spotlight** examining identification strategies and evidence
* **Practice Box** with worked valuation/damages examples
* **Problems** combining quantitative exercises and analytical essays

## Structure

### Part I: Foundations

Chapters 1-5 cover the core framework: property rights, contracts, torts, and regulation. These establish the fundamental economic logic applied throughout the book.

### Part II: Applications

Chapters 6-9 apply the framework to specific domains: environmental law, market design and antitrust, behavioral law and economics, and intellectual property.

### Part III: Institutional Analysis

Chapters 10-12 examine legal institutions comparatively: common law vs civil law systems, corporate governance, and courts and dispute resolution.

### Appendices

Advanced topics in investor-state arbitration and mergers & acquisitions, a game theory primer, and mathematical prerequisites, followed by an epilogue and a glossary.

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## How to Use This Book

Each chapter is designed to be self-contained while building on earlier material. The **Empirical Spotlight** sections can be read independently for those interested in research methods. The **Practice Boxes** provide hands-on experience with valuation techniques used in legal disputes.

Problems range from straightforward calculations to open-ended policy analysis. Quantitative problems have definite answers; essay problems reward careful reasoning and attention to tradeoffs.

***

## About the author

I am an economist in New York. I am Associate Director at Oxford Economics, I teach as an adjunct at NYU Wagner and Columbia SIPA, and I am a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg's Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development. I took my PhD in economics at Columbia. More at [lwilsesamson.com](https://lwilsesamson.com/).

## How this book was made

I wrote this book with substantial help from AI language models, principally Claude (Anthropic), which I used for drafting, editing, formal models, worked practice-box examples and figures, and consistency checking. The outline, the argument, the selection of material and the judgments throughout are mine, as is the responsibility for what remains wrong. Figures were generated from code using the sources identified in their captions; illustrative figures are labelled.

In October 2026 I revised the whole text in two further passes, also with AI help: one to remove the stock phrasing that AI drafts produce, and one to bring the prose closer to my own academic writing.

In November 2026 I had the key checkable claims in each chapter (265 in all) compared with a primary source: case facts and holdings, what named empirical papers find, and statutory and agency figures. Each was verified, corrected, softened or cut, except 96 for which no primary source could be reached and which are marked as such. This is not a line-by-line proofread, so please check numbers and quotations against the primary sources before citing them.

Please report errors to <laurence@lwilsesamson.com>. Corrections usually go live the same day.

*Last updated: November 2026*