Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: This article develops an economic theory of expressive law. By expressing social values, law can tip a system of social norms into a new equilibrium. This process can create or destroy a social norm without changing individual values. In addition, law can change the individual values of rational people. Internalizing a social norm is a moral commitment that attaches a psychological penalty to a forbidden act. A rational person internalizes a norm when commitment conveys an advantage relative to the original preferences and the changed preferences. I call such a commitment a “Pareto self‐improvement.” By creating opportunities for Pareto selfimprovements, law induces rational people to change their preferences. Inducing change in this way respects individual preferences, rather favoring a particular moral theory.
Source: The Journal of Legal Studies
DOI: 10.1086/468036
Author: Robert Cooter
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3123138226