Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Backhaus, Ju_rgen G. --- "Legal and economic principles for the common administrative law in Europe" [2002] ELECD 19; in Marciano, Alain; Josselin, Jean-Michel (eds), "The Economics of Harmonizing European Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002)

Book Title: The Economics of Harmonizing European Law

Editor(s): Marciano, Alain; Josselin, Jean-Michel

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781840646085

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: Legal and economic principles for the common administrative law in Europe

Author(s): Backhaus, Ju_rgen G.

Number of pages: 13

Extract:

12. Legal and economic principles for
the common administrative law in
Europe
Jürgen G. Backhaus

INTRODUCTION
The law and economics of administration is still an emerging and somewhat
disparate field. The grouping together with regulation in the Journal of
Economic Literature classification system reflects a very specific view of the
field which is not shared on the European continent. Regulation is, by neces-
sity, the imposition of rules on some economic agent, hence an attempt to
override market forces through political discretion. The traditional view, on
the other hand, as it developed in France and Germany more than two
centuries before the modern instruments of regulation were introduced,
emphasizes the enabling character of administrative structures so as to allow
market forces to develop and economically meaningful decisions to be taken
in the interest of economic growth and prosperity.
The structure of this chapter follows from this basic proposition. Section
12.1 offers a succinct characterization of the entire field of the economics of
law and administration emphasizing the two different approaches on the
European continent on the one hand and the American regulatory system on
the other. In order to understand the latter, the basic category is rent-seeking,
a concept that is briefly being illustrated. Section 12.2 offers a short survey
of the relevant material for further reference. Section 12.3, however, offers
an integrative approach. There are economically meaningful principles
embedded in administrative legal doctrine which surface to different degrees
in both types of legal approaches. ...