The market is from both a practical and theoretical point of view central to an understanding of the topic of corporate, or as is said in New Zealand, company control. The history of the field has witnessed many twists and turns. Read more

I can think of two possible approaches to the general question of how to restore the sanctity of property and contract - a systematic exposition from first principles or a more autobiographical account. On this occasion, I will begin with some personal reflections. Read more

The first thing I should say is that the wrong Epstein is speaking to you today. The proper Epstein is my wife who works at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and who has been involved in most phases of school administration. Read more

I begin this talk with a now standard disclaimer: I know comparatively little about the New Zealand political setting, so I shall step back from the detail of specific institutions to consider the general question of how best to design voting systems. The basic principles can then be applied to various issues concerning New Zealand's mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system. The first point is a note of caution: voting systems within modern democratic politics are highly imperfect arrangements, even when operating at their best. Read more

Being ignorant of New Zealand's local circumstances, I am uncertain what I can offer to another country on topics such as the law and economics of resource management. What I hope to bring is a general theory that applies independently of local concerns. Read more

My task today is to consider reforms for the government's regulation of schooling. By way of introduction, let me refer briefly to a talk I gave during my previous visit to New Zealand, in December 1995, entitled 'The Role of the Government in Education'. Read more

The kind introductory remarks of Mr Judd provide a valuable framework for my topic. And his invocation of Frederic Bastiat offers an instructive, if unintended, way to frame this lecture. Read more

It was only with some trepidation that I accepted your invitation to speak about the Treaty of Waitangi and the rights of indigenous people, a most controversial subject in New Zealand. At one level, the debates here replicate those that are occurring elsewhere in the world. Read more

The topic of discrimination in the law of employment is one of the growth industries of our time. The issue covers the gamut from race, to sex, to disability and to age. Read more

There are clearly deep divisions of opinion in New Zealand on the relationship between the courts and the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA). These address both substantive and jurisdictional issues. Read more

Health care has become an enormously contentious political and intellectual issue over recent years, both in the United States and else-where in the world. Previously the debate had taken place mainly among technical people - academics and health specialists. Read more

To make sense of the tort system, we need to understand its operation as a system. Like any system, it consists of various parts which are closely interrelated. Read more

From ancient times to the present, information has made the world go round, from the most routine of transactions to the most complex. One critical issue therefore is what legal rules, if any, should govern the creation, dissemination and use of information. Read more

It is easy to find strong similarities between the New Zealand Human Rights Act 1993 and the so-called anti-discrimination laws in the United States. Indeed, laws of this type are increasingly popular elsewhere in western democracies, and perhaps throughout the world, so that a comparison of these two systems carries with it wider implications. Read more

This paper investigates the use of economic theory by common law judges. I shall begin that inquiry by propounding a gentle paradox. Read more