This volume brings together a collection of essays that critically engage with the methodological foundations, historical development, and contemporary applications of Law and Economics across diverse legal systems. Anchored in a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective, the volume reaffirms the enduring relevance of civil law of European origin as a shared legal tradition, while simultaneously scrutinising the promises and limitations of applying economic reasoning to law.

The point of departure is twofold: first, the centrality of legal institutions in shaping social order and in conceptualising law not merely as a set of rules, but as a historically contingent and normatively rich system; second, the imperative to interrogate the philosophical, moral, and political assumptions that underpin economic analysis, often obscured under the guise of methodological neutrality.

Through a dialogue between international scholars, the chapters address both classical and emerging questions. Core themes include the principle of wealth maximisation, the contested legacy of Pareto efficiency, and the image of the legislator as a rational decision-maker. Equally, the volume delves into contemporary concerns, such as behavioural analysis, the normative implications of nudging strategies in criminal law, and the growing influence of evidence-based legal design.

Several essays explore the expressive and symbolic dimensions of law, offering insights into the interaction between legal norms and social meaningsareas where traditional economic models struggle to provide adequate explanatory power. Others examine the legislative process itself through the lens of L&E, engaging with debates on the relative merits of rules versus standards and the cost-benefit calculus in regulatory design.

In addition to theoretical investigations, the volume offers historical and contextual analyses of the reception and evolution of L&E in countries such as Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Portugal, and Italy. These contributions reveal the contingent trajectories of L&E scholarship outside the Anglo-American mainstream, highlighting both its diffusion and its local reinterpretations.

Taken together, the essays invite a reconsideration of civil law not only as a legal order but as an intellectual heritage capable of engaging critically with economic paradigmsneither uncritically embracing them nor rejecting them in toto, but seeking a deeper integration that remains attentive to legal specificity, normative coherence, and institutional context.

Provides an overview of the developments of the Law & Economics approach in "latin" legal cultures Offers original philosophical insights on the assumptions of Law and Economics Brings together contributions by jurists from eleven countries from Europe and Latin America

Autorentext

Silvia Zorzetto , Ph.D., is associate professor of legal philosophy at the Cesare Beccaria Department of the University of Milan and has the National Scientific Qualification as full professor. She has published books, articles and chapters on fundamental legal concepts, such as reasonableness, legal reasoning and language and the sources of law such as legal customs. Her main actual interests of investigation deal with nudging, economic analysis of law, and politics in legal method.

Betzabé Marciani Burgos , Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Law Department, Lima, Peru

José Enrique Sotomayor Trelles , Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Law Department, Lima, Peru

Francesco Ferraro , University of Milan, Department of Law "Cesare Beccaria", Milan, Italy

Inhalt

Civil law as a common heritage, challenges for law and economics and for comparative law.- PART I: PERSPECTIVES ON THE NORMATIVITY OF L&E.- Against the Myth of Methodological Neutrality: The Philosophical-Political and Moral Assumptions of Law and Economics.- The symbolic aspects of law between expressive theories and economic analysis.- The Principle of Social Wealth Maximization and Rule Utilitarianism: some considerations.- CALABRESI V. PARETO. Preferences, Harm, and Efficiency.- PART II: APPLIED L&E AND INSTITUTIONAL POLICY-MAKING.- "Economist Legislators: The Use of Economic Analysis of Law in the Lawmaking Process.- Better Regulation, Cost-Benefit Analysis and Evidence Based Legal Design: A Critical Inquiry.- Nudge in Criminal Law: Behavioral Analysis Challenges to Traditional Justification of Punishment in Criminal Law Theories.- Criminal Law and Economic Analysis of Law. Is it worth the money?.- The Contributions of a Credit View of Money (and Heterodox Economics) to a Better Understanding of the Monetary System.- COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL IN THE BRAZILIAN CIVIL PROCEDURE: A LAW AND ECONOMICS APPROACH.- PART III: ITALO-IBEROAMERICAN EXPERIENCES OF EAL.- THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW (EAL): SOME THOUGHTS FOR COLOMBIA, CHILE, AND ECUADOR.- Rise and Peak of Peruvian Law and Economics.- Understanding the origins of Economic Analysis of Law in Mexico.- THE STAGES OF THE ITALIAN STYLE IN LAW & ECONOMICS. ORIGINS, EVOLUTIONS AND LATEST DEVELOPMENTS.- Law and Economics in Portugal an overview of the last 20 years.