Law and economics: What does future hold?

Nobel laureates address question at Law School event Three University of Chicago Nobel laureates -- Gary Becker, Ronald Coase and Merton Miller -- will discuss the future of law and economics, an area of study pioneered at the University, from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, in the Law School's Lloyd Auditorium. Joining them will be Richard Posner, Chief Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Seventh Circuit and Senior Lecturer at the Law School.

The roundtable, presented by the University of Chicago Law Review, will be moderated by Richard Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor in the Law School. Epstein has written extensively in many legal areas, particularly on using the tools of law and economics.

Law and economics studies the actual effects of laws and public policy on people's lives. "Law and economics is increasingly recognized as the most practical and cogent tool that we have for analyzing the effects of legal policies on society," Epstein said.

Among the current topics studied in this area are health care policy, concealed handgun laws, securities regulation, campaign finance reform and public policies for the elderly.

Miller, the Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Business, received the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1990. Coase, the Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus in the Law School, won the prize in 1991, and Becker, University Professor in the Departments of Economics and Sociology, received the prize in 1992.