JEL code K
Law and economics
How do legal rules change behaviour?
Emerged 1960
Ronald Coase's “The Problem of Social Cost” showed that who holds a legal right changes the outcome only when bargaining is costly, and gave rise to the field.
SourceEconLib, Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: Ronald H. Coase (opens in a new tab)
An example
The Coase theorem (1960): with low bargaining costs, who holds a right doesn't affect efficiency. With high costs, it matters a lot.