Economics as a map in law and market economy

Abstract

S.I. Hayakawa said, “The map is not the territory.” Taking this as my theme, I explore the idea of economics as a cultural-interpretive map that can be usefully employed to navigate the legal landscape. As a map, economics facilitates our understanding of law in a market context. At the same time, the map is not the metaphorical territory that it represents, just as economics is not the market exchange process to which it refers. Therefore, we must be careful not to conflate our conception of the economic map with our understanding of the legal territory.

Citation

Paul Malloy, R. (2009), "Economics as a map in law and market economy", Gold, D.L. (Ed.) Law & Economics: Toward Social Justice (Research in Law and Economics, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0193-5895(2009)0000024005