On the Writing and the Interpretation of Contracts

Posted: 23 Feb 2006

See all articles by Steven Shavell

Steven Shavell

Harvard Law School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Abstract

The major theme of this article is that the interpretation of contracts is in the interests of contracting parties. The general reasons are (a) that interpretation may improve on otherwise imperfect contracts; and (b) that the prospect of interpretation allows parties to write simpler contracts and thus to conserve on contracting effort. A method of interpretation is defined as a function whose argument is the written contract and whose value is another contract, the interpreted contract, which is what actually governs the parties' joint enterprise. It is shown that interpretation is superior to enforcement of contracts as written, and the optimal method of interpretation is analyzed.

JEL Classification: D00, D8, K12

Suggested Citation

Shavell, Steven, On the Writing and the Interpretation of Contracts. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Vol. 22, No. 2, Fall 2006, Harvard Law and Economics Discussion Paper No. 445, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=883692

Steven Shavell (Contact Author)

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