The course will provide students an advanced critical introduction to the impact on the legal system of the transformation of modern capitalism from technological and economic change, such as digitilisation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Gene Editing (the “Fourth Industrial Revolution), as well as the process of financialisation, drawing on economics, political economy and economic sociology.

The course will examine the evolving legal and economic foundations of capitalism, as these are transformed by the ongoing fourth industrial revolution, in order to introduce participants to the intricacies of the legal-economic nexus in modern capitalist societies. This is not a traditional “economic analysis of law” course. We question the assumptions and methods employed by economic analysis of law, as we consider that it focuses too much on economic efficiency (narrowly defined), and methodological individualism, ignoring the role of social systems and organisations in the constellation of path dependencies and interests. It is also static (as it does not engage with the possibility of drastic innovations), and relies on a simplistic understanding of human behaviour. Hence, we consider that, although analytically appealing, traditional “economic analysis of law” is both from a theoretical and a practical perspective flawed, and that its influence to policy makers and the legal profession will wane in the near future. Our starting point is that of a “complex economy” in constant evolution because of the development of new technologies, which requires in order to understand its mechanisms and the role of the legal system in this process of transformation, a profound understanding, not just of economics, but also of economic sociology, political economy and science and technology studies. Hence, the specific module relates to the broader Law and Political Economy movement.

The first part of the course will focus on the different perspectives brought by these ongoing technological transformations in the conceptualization of property rights (including intellectual property), liability rules, regulatory alternatives and the role of the legal system in general. We will also explore the legal innovations that were put in place in order to facilitate the constitution of global markets and to support market transactions and will reflect on the way technology and drastic (or disruptive) innovation alters the economic and legal foundations of the capitalist system.

The second part of the course will delve into the conceptual and institutional foundations of a market economy. We will focus on the social construction of markets and their properties, as well as the market-making role of economists who devise innovative technical instruments (“market devices”) that intervene in the shaping and reshaping of markets and ensure their performance. We will explore how the legal system has assisted this market-creating effort so far, as well as the intense collaboration between different professions in order to ensure the performativity of markets. The recent turn of both economics and the law to promoting innovation will constitute the intellectual backbone of the course. In this effort we will explore the legal-economic nexus in various industries, such as computing, finance, the food sector, biotechnology and pharma, among others. In addition to the classic legal texts, readings will include foundation texts in law and economics, science and technology studies, political economy, economic sociology, innovation economics and general sociology. The third part of the course will briefly introduce the students to the basics of data science with the two tutorials serving as an introduction to the use of some quantitative techniques, such as agent-based modelling and linear regression.