Abstract

GARCIA-TEJEDA, ENRIQUE. Behavioral Law and Economics: A Complementary Approach to the Standard Perspective. Rev. Derecho Estado [online]. 2023, n.57, pp.109-134.  Epub Dec 03, 2023. ISSN 0122-9893.  https://doi.org/10.18601/01229893.n57.05.

There is a debate regarding the relationship between standard and behavioral perspectives of Law and Economics. On the one hand, Behavioral Economics could broaden economic theory by explaining the real world of law, as in the case of legal structures of merit goods and altruism1. On the other hand, Behavioral Economics may not be needed to explain legal structures that do not maximize wealth, since standard economic theory is well able to do so2. Nevertheless, a comparison of two scientific approaches does not necessarily have to imply selecting one theory over the other; rather, it allows the use of both theories in a complementary manner. This research conceptualizes Law and Economics as a Lakatos research programme and analyzes the relationship between Behavioral Law and Economics and the standard approach. The results reveal that, first, Behavioral Law and Economics explains anomalies that are undetected by standard Law and Economics. The behavioral approach is thus not a substitute for the standard perspective, but rather, the two approaches may be complementary. Second, these two theories of Law and Economics examine different, but complementary, aspects of regulation. This article uses the regulation of transportation network companies to illustrate this issue.

Keywords : Public law; economics; regulation; behavioral sciences.

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