Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Jan Broulík | Tilburg Law and Economics Center, Tilburg University
Economic Approach to Law in the US and Europe: Causes of Distinct Proliferation
Jurisprudence 3/2015 Section: Treatise Page: 3-14
Keywords: economics, law, common law, civil law, legal culture
Abstract: Foreign literature identifies various causes for which the economic approach to law has spread more intensively in the US than in Europe. This article classifies these causes into the following five categories: (1) institutional environment, (2) legal culture, (3) academic institutions, (4) knowledge and skills, (5) influence of individuals and funding. Causes belonging to all these categories – some of which condition or otherwise influence one another – can, to some extent, explain the mentioned “transatlantic divergence”. Some of the causes are, however, only relevant in explanation pertaining to a certain group of agents active within European legal communities (e.g. judges).
