Economic Law As an Economic Good: Its Rule Function and Its Tool Function in the Competition of Systems

Governments, or at least the clever ones among them, are aware of the factors guiding business activities. In the course of adopting and enforcing economic legislation, they seek to attract business activities in order to increase national income (and fiscal revenues), generate employment opportunities, and, very generally, please voters. Hence economic law may be considered an economic good, as suggested by the title of this book. That function, which most rules of economic law have in the competition of systems, was strengthened by the worldwide liberalization of trade. Today, it is of greater significance than ever before. Lawyers, economists, academics, and practitioners, from inside and outside Germany, have taken a look at the facts and have discussed approaches to conceptualizing them. The resulting 30 essays, collected in this volume, contribute to the interpretation of existing, and the making of new, economic law.