Law and Social Change Class 1. Administrative Give quiz Deficiencies

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Law and Social Change

Class 1

Administrative

Give quiz

Deficiencies

Review

Any questions about the reading

Differences among negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication

Issues of Justiciability and Standing

Today

I. Reciprocity between law and social change

II. Law’s effect on attitudes and values

III. Law as a Source of Social Change

I. Reciprocity between Law and Social Change

What does it mean to say this relationship is reciprocal?

Can you provide examples of the impact in each direction?

II. Law’s Effect on Attitudes and Values

Can law affect attitudes and/or values?

How can this happen? What is the sociological or psychological mechanism?

What are the limits to this kind of effect?

III. Law as a Source of Social Change

As we have already seen, law can be a source of social change (and social change can give rise to new laws)

Examples of other sources of social change?

Since law is not the only source, we may have choices about how to induce social change when we want it

Next Time

Advantages and Disadvantages of law as an instrument of social change

Law and Social Change

Class 2

Administrative Discuss case presentations at end of

class

Report on and collect journals

Return quizzes

Review Law and social change are reciprocal

processes They interact with each other Each can give rise to the other

Law’s effects on attitudes and values Law can affect attitudes and values However, not always and not always the

effect we are trying to achieve Law as a source of social change

Today

I. Advantages of Law as an Instrument of Social Change

II. Limitations of Law as an Instrument of Social Change

III. Terminology for next timeIV. Exercise – Promoting two-parent

families

I. Advantages of Law as a Source of Social Change

Legitimate Authority

The Binding Force of Law

Sanctions

II. Limitations of Law as a Source of Social Change

Originates externally to most people and seems coercive

Laws may be perceived as serving particular economic interest groups

Law is only one of a very large set of policy instruments and usually cannot be effective by itself

Lack of success of law in enforcing private morality

Watch out for unintended consequences

III. Terminology

Risk Neutral

Utility Maximizers

“marginal” difference in the impact on arrests

III. Terminology

Covariates

Linear Interpolation

City fixed effects and year dummies

IV. Promoting Two Parent Families

Suppose our goal is to reduce the rate of divorce and to increase the percentage of children raised by two-parent families

What options do we have to promote such social change?

How might the law be altered to promote such social change?

Case Presentations

In one sense this is a team exercise Who are the judges? Nature of the assignment Which topic will be done on which

date? See home page

Journal Presentations

Next Time

We’ll discuss the Donahue and Levitt article

Law and Social Change

Class 3

Administrative

Any questions about case presentations?

Return journals at end of class

Time for teams?

Review

Advantages of using law as a source of social change

Limitations of law as a source of social change

Today

I. Donahue and Levitt

II. Exercise

II. Donahue and Levitt What issue are they examining?

What is their model and what variables do they measure?

What do they conclude?

What are the implications for social change?

III. Exercise Divide into teams

Issue – Discrimination in housing sales

How would you test for this phenomenon?

What kinds of evidence would your test produce?

How would you write the law to reduce such discrimination?

Next Time

Begin unit on attorneys

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