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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
