Institute for Law & Economics University of Pennsylvania 3501 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6204 215.898.7719, www.law.upenn.edu/ile/ September 2012
Michael L. Wachter, Co-Director William B. Johnson Professor of Law and Economics 215.898.7852 mwachter@law.upenn.edu Jill E. Fisch, Co-Director Perry Golkin Professor of Law 215.746.3454 jfisch@law.upenn.edu
William W. Bratton, Co-Director Nicholas F. Gallicchio Professor of Law 215.898.6911 wbratton@law.upenn.edu Vicki L. Hewitt, Program Director 215.898.7719 vhewitt@law.upenn.edu
Founded in 1980, the Institute for Law and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania has an ambitious agenda that is timelier than ever. The study of law and economics remains the most rapidly growing movement in legal scholarship and jurisprudence. Under the sponsorship of the Law School, the Wharton School, and the Department of Economics in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, the Institute has played a leading role in this expanding field. Cross-disciplinary research, the cornerstone of ILE, seeks to influence the national policy debate by analyzing the impact of law on the global economy, spotlighting the significant role that economics plays in fashioning legal policy. Our innovative roundtables and conferences, launched in 1985, complement these goals by provoking in-depth and frequently groundbreaking examinations of critical issues. These and other programs highlighted in this Annual Report have helped the Institute stay on the leading edge of this cross-discipline. The Institute for Law and Economics has unique advantages. We draw on the research and teaching strengths of the Law School, the Wharton School, and the Department of Economics. Our geographic location is optimal, allowing us to bring together participants from Washington and New York for full-day meetings and still get everyone home in time for dinner. We have been able to call on the expertise of Penn Law School alumni who occupy key positions in law, business, and government. And, critically, we have an extraordinarily distinguished cadre of board members and sponsors who are willing to give of their time and expertise to make our programming a success. In each area, from our public lectures and panels through our closed-door roundtables to our more academically-oriented faculty workshops, we are driven by the same mission: to use the tools of economics to understand the law. In a world in which complex legal rules govern economic relationships, the tools of economics provide a way of asking whether the law creates appropriate incentives to encourage actors to maximize social welfare. Funding for ILE comes from a diverse group of corporations, law firms, foundations, and individuals who endorse our work each year. Over the past decade, the Institute has more than tripled its donor base to provide ongoing support for its programs.