Models in Social Science: A Review of Law and Public Policy: A Socioeconomic Approach by Lynne L. Dallas

The neoclassical economic model, a type of social science modeling that is simple and produces useful insights into market phenomena, have been applied by scholars, such as Becker and Posner, to various social problems. However, questions remain whether this model adequately encompasses all the moral issues and values relevant to making law and public policy more efficient. This article reviews Professor Dallas? new book, Law and Public Policy: A Socioeconomic Approach, which evaluates the neoclassical economic model and new models using scholarship and insights from other disciplines and perspectives to examine their application on legal issues. Professor Dallas? book is more than a textbook on law and socioeconomics because it takes a multidisciplinary look at economic analysis of the law without rendering the discussion redundant or devoid of new insights.

This book is part of a growing movement, advocated at the 2003 Law and Society Association meeting, towards scholarship that examines legal problems from a behavioral economics perspective or a socioeconomic perspective.