Gordon Tullock: A Maverick Scholar of Law and Economics

15 Pages Posted: 20 Jan 2015

See all articles by Richard E. Wagner

Richard E. Wagner

George Mason University - Department of Economics; George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Date Written: January 19, 2015

Abstract

This essay sketches the central features of Gordon Tullock’s (1922-2014) contributions to law and economics. My reference to Tullock as a “maverick scholar” is to indicate that he stood apart from the mainstream of law and economics scholarship as this is represented by Richard Posner’s canonical statement that the common law reflects a relentless pursuit of economic efficiency. In contrast, Tullock denied efficiency claims on behalf of common law. Examination of Tullock’s contrary claim illustrates how any analytical claim necessarily rests on and is derived from some preceding set of conceptual presuppositions because such qualities as “efficiency” are not objects of direct apprehension but rather are inferences from particular theoretical frameworks.

Keywords: Gordon Tullock; Richard Posner; law and economics; public choice; political economy; process vs. equilibrium; complex phenomena vs. reduction to simplicity

JEL Classification: D72, KI10, K40, P16

Suggested Citation

Wagner, Richard E., Gordon Tullock: A Maverick Scholar of Law and Economics (January 19, 2015). GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 15-04, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2552307 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2552307

Richard E. Wagner (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://mason.gmu.edu/~rwagner/

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://ppe.mercatus.org/scholars/richard-wagner

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