The University of Texas at Austin   School of Law

This course will discuss the role (if any) social justice should play in a free market economy and will consider whether the traditional economic rationale for allowing markets to operate free of legal rules adequately responds to pre-existing distributional inequities.  These inequities most often arise from the social construction of a number of identity variables, including race, gender, language, national origin, and, sexual orientation. 
We will use a number of frameworks, including law and economics, critical race theory, feminist legal theory, queer theory, and critical legal studies, to consider whether legal interventions may be needed to correct actual or perceived injustices that exist in our market economy.  Finally, we will explore ways to resolve the societal tension between “efficiency” and “equality” in the law and in the marketplace. 

Social and Economic Regulation