Social Norms and Nonlegal Sanctions

Social Norms and Nonlegal Sanctions

This seminar is offered by Professor Krier and Mr. Teichman, a doctoral student in law. The seminar will focus on non-legal sanctions, based in social norms, as means, supplemental or alternative to law, to control behavior. Examples of such sanctions include guilt, an internal or self-imposed sanction; ostracism, an external sanction imposed by third parties; and reputational sanctions, which play a central role in commercial settings. The seminar aims to map out and understand the various mechanisms involved, including their relationship to formal ordering
through law. The seminar will be of an interdisciplinary nature, but with an emphasis on law and economics. Other fields of interest are, for example, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. We hope for a diverse set of students who can represent (with some authority) these various points of view. We also hope for diversity in the sense of cultural background. For these reasons, interested students will be asked to meet with the instructors, who will choose the final group. Graduate students in law and other disciplines are welcome.

During the course of the seminar students will be required to prepare a presentation and a research paper. The presentation and the paper coupled with contributions to seminar discussions will yield the grade for the semester.