Economic Analysis of Accident Law

Accident law, if properly designed, is capable of reducing the incidence of mishaps by making people act more cautiously. Scholarly writing on this branch of law traditionally has been concerned with examining the law for consistency with felt notions of right and duty. Since the l960s, however, a group of legal scholars and economists have focused on identifying the effects of accident law on people's behavior. Steven Shavell's book is the definitive synthesis of research to date in this new field. Shavell explains, systematically and rigorously, the major doctrines of accident law and shows how each can be analyzed and evaluated on the basis of models that predict the conduct of "rational" parties in the face of various incentives. Many of the issues he raises have heretofore received little attention, particularly the role of the insurance system and the way ownership of insurance alters behavior and the distribution of accident losses. Shavell also examines the costs of operating the liability system and looks at alternative methods of managing risk, such as governmental regulation of safety. Unmatched in its comprehensiveness, this book will be relied on as a general reference and used as a framework for evaluating and reforming the current system of accident law. Economic Analysis of Accident Law is accessible to a wide audience: the text can be understood by students and scholars who have no specialized knowledge, and economists will benefit from the formal version of the text presented in mathematical appendixes following each chapter.