The Center for Contract and Economic Organization was created in 2006 to exploit the synergies between the University's leading scholars in contract theory and the economics of information and the faculty at the Law School, who are among the nation's most prominent legal scholars in the law and economics of contracts, commercial transactions, and business organizations.
The singular focus that links these various scholars is the study of the mechanisms of contracting both inside and outside the firm: Why do economic actors write the contracts that they do? How are these choices affected by variations in economic organization? And, how can (and do) lawyers (and the law) facilitate efforts to develop more efficient mechanisms for contract and transactional design? While several other universities have centers that focus more specifically on corporate structure and governance, the Center for Contract and Economic Organization is both unique and uniquely placed to make major contributions to existing knowledge.
Publications from 1989
Essay: Mandatory/Enabling Balance in Corporate Law: An Essay on the Judicial Role, John C. Coffee Jr.
Essay: On the Nature of Bankruptcy: An Essay of Bankruptcy Sharing and the Creditor's Bargain, Thomas H. Jackson and Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1988
Article: No Exit?: Opting Out, The Contractual Theory of the Corporation, and the Special Case of Remedies, John C. Coffee Jr.
Article: Reflections on Fuller and Perdue's The Reliance Interest in Contract Damages: A Positive Economic Framework, Avery W. Katz
Essay: Impossibility and Related Excuses, Victor P. Goldberg
Essay: The Uncertain Case for Takeover Reform: An Essay on Stockholders, Stakeholders and Bust-Ups, John C. Coffee Jr.
Response/Comment: Clarifying the Record, Victor P. Goldberg
Publications from 1987
Article: Bargaining in the Shadow of Eminent Domain: Valuing and Apportioning Condemnation Awards Between Landlord and Tenant, Victor P. Goldberg, Thomas W. Merrill, and Daniel Unumb
Article: Conflict and Cooperation in Long-Term Contracts, Robert E. Scott
Article: Evaluating Dual Class Common Stock: The Relevance of Substitutes, Ronald J. Gilson
Article: Rethinking the Class Action: A Policy Primer on Reform, John C. Coffee Jr.
Article: The Regulation of Entrepreneurial Litigation: Balancing Fairness and Efficiency in the Large Class Action, John C. Coffee Jr.
Publications from 1986
Article: A Relational Theory of Secured Financing, Robert E. Scott
Article: Understanding the Plaintiff's Attorney: The Implications of Economic Theory for Private Enforcement of Law Through Class and Derivative Actions, John C. Coffee Jr.
Book Review: Through Bankruptcy with the Creditors' Bargain Heuristic, Robert E. Scott
Essay: Error and Rationality in Individual Decisionmaking: An Essay on the Relationship Between Cognitive Illusion and the Management of Choice, Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1985
Article: Price Adjustment in Long-Term Contracts, Victor P. Goldberg
Article: Sharing Among the Human Capitalists: An Economic Inquiry into the Corporate Law Firm and How Partners Split Profits, Ronald J. Gilson and Robert H. Mnookin
Article: Television and the Quest for Gold: The Unofficial Paper of the 1984 Olympics, Victor P. Goldberg
Article: The Limits of Expanded Choice: An Analysis of the Interactions between Express and Implied Contract Terms, Charles J. Goetz and Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1984
Article: Federal Jurisdiction over Preemption Claims: A Post-Franchise Tax Board Analysis, Ronald J. Mann
Article: Market Failure and the Economic Case for a Mandatory Disclosure System, John C. Coffee Jr.
Article: The Mechanisms of Market Efficiency, Ronald J. Gilson
Response/Comment: An Economic Analysis of the Lost-Volume Retail Seller, Victor P. Goldberg
Publications from 1983
Article: The Mitigation Principle: Toward a General Theory of Contractual Obligation, Charles J. Goetz and Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1981
Article: A Structural Approach to Corporations: The Case Against Defensive Tactics in Tender Offers, Ronald J. Gilson
Article: Principles of Relational Contracts, Charles J. Goetz and Robert E. Scott
Article: The Survival of the Derivative Suit: An Evaluation and a Proposal for Legislative Reform, John C. Coffee Jr. and Donald E. Schwartz
Publications from 1980
Article: Making the Punishment Fit the Corporation: The Problem of Finding an Optimal Corporation Criminal Sanction, John C. Coffee Jr.
Article: Rebuttal: The Individual or The Firm? Focusing The Threat of Criminal Liability, John C. Coffee Jr.
Publications from 1979
Article: Enforcing Promises: An Examination of the Basis of Contract, Charles J. Goetz and Robert E. Scott
Article: Measuring Sellers' Damages: The Lost-Profits Puzzle, Charles J. Goetz and Robert E. Scott
Article: The Law and Economics of Vertical Restrictions: A Relational Perspective, Victor P. Goldberg
Publications from 1977
Article: Beyond the Shut-Eyed Sentry: Toward a Theoretical View of Corporate Misconduct and an Effective Legal Response, John C. Coffee Jr.
Article: Liquidated Damages, Penalties and the Just Compensation Principle: Some Notes on an Enforcement Model and a Theory of Efficient Breach, Charles J. Goetz and Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1975
Article: Constitutional Regulation of Provisional Creditor Remedies: The Cost of Procedural Due Process, Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1974
Article: Abusive Debt Collection – A Model Statute for Virginia, Robert E. Scott and Diane M. Strickland
Article: Institutional Change and the Quasi-Invisible Hand, Victor P. Goldberg
Publications from 1972
Article: The Reality of Procedural Due Process – A Study of the Implementation of Fair Hearing Requirements by the Welfare Caseworker, Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1969
Article: The Regulation and Administration of the Welfare Hearing Process – The Need for Administrative Responsibility, Robert E. Scott
Publications from 1967
Article: Compensation for Victims of Violent Crimes: An Analysis, Robert E. Scott