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Behavioral Law and Economics: Empirical Methods

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  • Christoph Engel

    (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn)

Abstract

Originally, behavioral law and economics was an exercise in exploring the implications of key findings from behavioral economics (and psychology) for the analysis and reform of legal institutions. Yet as the new discipline matures, it increasingly replaces foreign evidence by fresh evidence, directly targeted to the legal research question. This chapter surveys the key methods: field evidence, survey data, vignette and lab experiment, discusses their pros and cons, illustrates them with key publications, and concludes with methodological paths for fu-ture development. It quantifies statements with descriptive statistics about the 77 behavioral papers that have been published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies since its foundation until the end of 2012.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Engel, 2013. "Behavioral Law and Economics: Empirical Methods," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2013_01, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    • Handle: RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2013_01
    as

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    File URL: http://www.coll.mpg.de/pdf_dat/2013_01online.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christoph Engel, 2008. "The Behaviour of Corporate Actors. A Survey of the Empirical Literature," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2008_23, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    2. Oliver Budzinski & Isabel Ruhmer, 2010. "Merger Simulation In Competition Policy: A Survey," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 277-319.
    3. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias, 2009. "Alternative Approaches to Evaluation in Empirical Microeconomics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
    4. Matthew Hall, 2010. "Randomness Reconsidered: Modeling Random Judicial Assignment in the U.S. Courts of Appeals," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(3), pages 574-589, September.
    5. Jonathan Klick & Thomas Stratmann, 2007. "Diabetes Treatments and Moral Hazard," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(3), pages 519-538.
    6. Christoph Engel & Michael Kurschilgen, 2011. "Fairness Ex Ante and Ex Post: Experimentally Testing Ex Post Judicial Intervention into Blockbuster Deals," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(4), pages 682-708, December.
    7. Eyal Zamir & Ilana Ritov, 2012. "Loss Aversion, Omission Bias, and the Burden of Proof in Civil Litigation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 165-207.
    8. Charles R. Plott & Kathryn Zeiler, 2005. "The Willingness to Pay–Willingness to Accept Gap, the "Endowment Effect," Subject Misconceptions, and Experimental Procedures for Eliciting Valuations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 530-545, June.
    9. Landeo, Claudia M. & Nikitin, Maxim & Babcock, Linda, 2007. "Split-awards and disputes: An experimental study of a strategic model of litigation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 553-572, July.
    10. Michael Frakes, 2012. "Defensive Medicine and Obstetric Practices," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(3), pages 457-481, September.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sophie Clot & Gilles Grolleau & Lisette Ibanez, 2016. "Do good deeds make bad people?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 491-513, December.
    2. Lisa R. Anderson & Gregory DeAngelo & Winand Emons & Beth Freeborn & Hannes Lang, 2017. "Penalty Structures And Deterrence In A Two-Stage Model: Experimental Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(4), pages 1833-1867, October.
    3. Nicola Lettieri & Antonio Altamura & Rosalba Giugno & Alfonso Guarino & Delfina Malandrino & Alfredo Pulvirenti & Francesco Vicidomini & Rocco Zaccagnino, 2018. "Ex Machina : Analytical platforms, Law and the Challenges of Computational Legal Science," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    behavioral law and economics; law and psychology; criminology; field data; survey data; vignette; lab experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • C01 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Econometrics
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods

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