Law & Capitalism - by Curtis J Milhaupt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Recent high-profile corporate scandals-such as those involving Enron in the United States, Yukos in Russia, and Livedoor in Japan-demonstrate challenges to legal regulation of business practices in capitalist economies. Setting forth a new analytic framework for understanding these problems, Law and Capitalism examines such contemporary corporate governance crises in six countries, to shed light on the interaction of legal systems and economic change. This provocative book debunks the simplistic view of law's instrumental function for financial market development and economic growth.
Using comparative case studies that address the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Russia, Curtis J. Milhaupt and Katharina Pistor argue that a disparate blend of legal and nonlegal mechanisms have supported economic growth around the world. Their groundbreaking findings show that law and markets evolve together in a "rolling relationship," and legal systems, including those of the most successful economies, therefore differ significantly in their organizational characteristics. Innovative and insightful, Law and Capitalism will change the way lawyers, economists, policy makers, and business leaders think about legal regulation in an increasingly global market for capital and corporate governance.

Review Quotes

?Original, important, and topical. Milhaupt and Pistor are drawing on their very considerable expertise by bringing together a wide range of different country contexts. Few others could cover America, Russia, western Europe and east Asia as they do here. They also make an important theoretical contribution to the debate over different national types of capitalism. Simon Deakin, University of Cambridge -- Simon Deakin (10/09/2007)

?This pathbreaking book takes seriously the need to understand the relationship between law and the economy as a dynamic process. In so doing, the authors articulate a rich and multifaceted account that is at once innovative and deeply grounded in their extraordinary wealth of insights into world legal systems. It will be required reading for anyone engaged in serious study of corporate and comparative law. John Armour, University of Oxford -- John Armour (12/20/2007)

?Two of the world's best scholars in law and economic development have teamed up to explain how different governments try to promote economic growth. They focus on coordinating and protecting investors through corporate and securities laws and policies. The ?institutional autopsies case studies of firm-level scandals around the world like Enron?engage the reader and draw the general out of the particular. You enjoy this book as you learn from it. Robert Cooter, University of California, Berkeley -- Robert Cooter (11/19/2007)

"This pathbreaking book takes seriously the need to understand the relationship between law and the economy as a dynamic process. In so doing, the authors articulate a rich and multifaceted account that is at once innovative and deeply grounded in their extraordinary wealth of insights into world legal systems. It will be required reading for anyone engaged in serious study of corporate and comparative law."-John Armour, University of Oxford

"Two of the world's best scholars in law and economic development have teamed up to explain how different governments try to promote economic growth. They focus on coordinating and protecting investors through corporate and securities laws and policies. The institutional autopsies'-case studies of firm-level scandals around the world like Enron-engage the reader and draw the general out of the particular. You enjoy this book as you learn from it."-Robert Cooter, University of California, Berkeley

"Original, important, and topical. Milhaupt and Pistor are drawing on their very considerable expertise by bringing together a wide range of different country contexts. Few others could cover America, Russia, western Europe and east Asia as they do here. They also make an important theoretical contribution to the debate over different national types of capitalism."-Simon Deakin, University of Cambridge

0;Original, important, and topical. Milhaupt and Pistor are drawing on their very considerable expertise by bringing together a wide range of different country contexts. Few others could cover America, Russia, western Europe and east Asia as they do here. They also make an important theoretical contribution to the debate over different national types of capitalism.1;2;Simon Deakin, University of Cambridge
-- Simon Deakin (10/09/2007)

0;This pathbreaking book takes seriously the need to understand the relationship between law and the economy as a dynamic process. In so doing, the authors articulate a rich and multi-faceted account that is at once innovative and deeply grounded in their extraordinary wealth of insights into world legal systems. It will be required reading for anyone engaged in serious study of corporate and comparative law.1;2;John Armour, Oxford University -- John Armour (12/20/2007)

0;Two of the world7;s best scholars in law and economic development have teamed up to explain how different governments try to promote economic growth. They focus on coordinating and protecting investors through corporate and securities laws and policies. The 6;institutional autopsies7;2;case studies of firm-level scandals around the world like Enron2;engage the reader and draw the general out of the particular. You enjoy this book as you learn from it.1;2;Robert Cooter, University of California-Berkeley
-- Robert Cooter (11/19/2007)

About the Author

Curtis J. Milhaupt is the Fuyo Professor of Law and director of the Center for Japanese Legal Studies at Columbia Law School. He is the author of Global Markets, Domestic Institutions.

Katharina Pistor is professor of law at Columbia Law School.