Centre for Law and Economics
The Centre forms part of an international network of Centre's
for law and economics (including Yale, Berkely, Oxford Cambridge,
Copenhagen, Zurich, Peking, Tokyo and Singapore as participants
in the International Alliance of Research Universities).
It has been established to become a centre of excellence
in the application of economic analysis to law in Asia Pacific.
The economic analysis of law in the US began in Tax, Competition
law & regulated industries in the 1960’s it extended
into Property, Contract, Torts, Criminal, Constitutional
law. It is now the dominant method in Law Journals and several
US Federal Judges use Law and Economics in their judgements
(eg Breyer, Posner, Easterbrook, Calabresi, Bork). In the
1990’s Nobel Prizes in law and economics were awarded
to Coase, Becker, Buchanan, and North
The centre's primary focus is upon three major research programs:
Dr George Barker is Director of the Centre. Dr George Barker
has a Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University, and
holds both a law degree and Master of Economics. He was
awarded the Olin Fellowship in Law and Economics at Cornell
University in 2000. He is on the Editorial Board of the
European Journal of Law and Economics and is the editor
of Asia Pacific Law and Economics Review (Berkeley Electronic
Press). He is current President of the Australian Law and
Economics Association, the past CEO, and former Board member
of LECG Asia Pacific Ltd.
The Australian Law and Economics Association (AUSTLEA)
promotes the economic analysis of legal rules and institutions and serves as a forum for the
exchange of information, analysis and ideas.
