Law Schedule of Classes

NOTE: Course offerings change. Classes offered this semester may not be offered in future semesters.

Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.

217.13 sec. 001 - Law, Economics, and Inequality (Spring 2024)

Instructor: Dhammika Dharmapala
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Units: 2
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person

Meeting:

F 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: 2240 Piedmont 102
From January 12, 2024
To April 19, 2024

Course Start: January 12, 2024
Course End: April 19, 2024
Class Number: 33481

Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 4
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 24
As of: 04/27 11:56 PM

Inequality with respect to income and wealth - both within countries and at the global level - has attracted increased attention and scholarly discussion in recent years. This seminar seeks to provide an overview of this topic and its relationship to law and legal institutions. It draws primarily on the economic analysis of law and the economic theory of optimal taxation, but also considers various other normative and theoretical perspectives, including those from moral philosophy. Topics to be covered include (but are not limited to) the following: the background facts on within-country and global income and wealth inequality; the optimal taxation framework and theories of distributive justice; perspectives on the use of private law doctrines to redistribute wealth; theories of global justice; the relationship between meritocracy and economic inequality; the role of anti-discrimination law; the role of the family in transmitting inequality; college admissions, inequality, social mobility and the law; the impact of economic inequality on political inequality. The seminar does not require any background in the economic analysis of law or in tax law and policy. It has no prerequisites. Assessment includes a final paper.

Requirements Satisfaction:

This class may be counted as either an Option 1 class (two Option 1 classes satisfy the J.D. writing requirement) or units from this class may count toward the J.D. Race and Law Requirement. This class may count for both requirements if and only if a student is electing Option 1 and the student's other Option 1 class being used to satisfy the J.D. writing requirement is not being counted towards any other requirement.

The Race and Law Requirement applies to the class of 2026 and beyond.

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Exam Notes: (P) Final paper
Course Category: Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP)
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law

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