Providing an introduction to and overview of the economic analysis of law, this book shows the importance of economic analysis to legal theory and practice. It provides a reliable introduction to property rights, cost-benefit analysis, public choice theory, and other economic approaches, set in the context of the study of the law. Economic analysis is increasingly being applied beyond its traditional precincts of the marketplace and the economy. One area where this has happened is in the economic approach to law: the application of economic theory (mostly price theory) and statistical methods to examine the formation, structure, processes and impact of the law and legal institutions. It is essential reading for scholars and students in law and economics as well as related disciplines.