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Horwitz, Steven --- "Family law, uncertainty, and the coordination of human capital" [2017] ELECD 1584; in Zywicki, J. Todd; Boettke, J. Peter (eds), "Research Handbook on Austrian Law and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 398

Book Title: Research Handbook on Austrian Law and Economics

Editor(s): Zywicki, J. Todd; Boettke, J. Peter

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849801133

Section: Chapter 18

Section Title: Family law, uncertainty, and the coordination of human capital

Author(s): Horwitz, Steven

Number of pages: 23

Abstract/Description:

Looking at the law and economics of the family through the eyes of the Austrian school helps us to see two key points of analysis that other approaches might overlook. First, Austrians understand the role played by the law as a node of social coordination in a world of uncertainty. Second, the Austrian understanding of capital, including human capital, sheds light on what makes for a sustainable marital partnership and provides a way of describing in more detail the nature of the coordination problem marriage involves. To the degree that the law facilitates rather than complicates the creation of complementary human capital structures between marital partners, it will contribute to better marriages and fewer divorces.