Contract Publications

Guns and Property Preference: Testing the Impact of Gilles and Cynicism Conjectures Using Survey Data, 39 Quinnipiac Law Review (2021) (with Pranjal Drall, Spurthi Jonnalagadda and Frederick Vars) 

A Theory of Mandatory Rules: Typology, Policy, and Design, 99 Texas Law Review 283 (2020), (with Eyal Zamir).

Disarmed by Choice: Liberating Individuals to Reduce Gun Violence, Harvard University Press (forthcoming 2020) (with Fred Vars).

Libertarian Gun Control, 167 University of Pennsylvania Law Review  921 (2019) (with Fredrick Vars). Online Appendix. Data and Code.

The Impact of Law Student Assistance on the Granting and Service of Temporary Restraining OrdersSSRN (2019) (with Brendan Costello & Elizabeth Villarreal). Interactive Tool.

Targeting Repeat Offender NDAs, 71 Stanford Law Review Online (2018). 

Gun (Self) ControlUniversity of Pennsylvania Law Review (forthcoming 2018) (with Fredrick Vars). Online Appendix. Data and Code.

A New Way to Reduce Gun Suicides, and Maybe Mass Shootings TooLos Angeles Times, March 12, 2018 (with Fredrick Vars). 

How a “No Guns” Registry Could Help Prevent Firearm-Related SuicidesThe Brookings Institute, June 20, 2017 (with Frederick Vars).

Using the False Claims Act to Remedy Tax Expenditure Fraud, 66 Duke Law Journal 535 (2016) (with Robert McGuire).

Contracting for Privacy Precaution (and a Laffer Curve for Crime), 45 Journal of Legal Studies 123 (2016).

Meet Callisto, the Tinder-like Platform that Aims to Fight Sexual Assault, Washington Post, Oct. 9, 2015.

Unhappy Meals: Sex Discrimination in Toy Choice at McDonald’s 21 William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law 237 (2015) (with Antonia Rose Ayres-Brown).

A Randomized Experiment Assessing the Accuracy of Microsoft’s “Bing It On” Challenge Claims, 26 Loyola Law Review 1 (2014) (with Emad Atiq, Sheng Li, Michelle Lu, Christine Tsang & Tom Maher). Data

Anti-Herding Regulation, 5 Harvard Business Law Review 1 (2015) (with Joshua Mitts).

Skeletons in the Database: An Early Analysis of the CFPB’s Consumer Complaints, 19 Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law 343 (2014) (with Jeff Lingwall, & Sonia Steinway).

Protecting Consumer Investors by Facilitating “Improved Performance” Competition, 2015 University of Illinois Law Review 1 (2015) (with Quinn Curtis).

The No Reading Problem in Consumer Contract Law, 66 Stanford Law Review 545 (2014) (with Alan Schwartz).

Three Proposals for Regulating the Distribution of Home Equity, 31 Yale Journal on Regulation 77 (2014) (with Joshua Mitts). Online Appendix.

Information Escrows, 111 Michigan Law Review 145 (2012) (with Cait Unkovic). Excel Simulations

Anti-Incentives: The Power of Resisted Temptation, European Financial Review 40 (February-March 2012).

Regulating Opt Out: An Economic Theory of Altering Rules, 121 Yale Law Journal 2032 (2012).

Commitments Bonds, 100 Georgetown Law Journal 605 (2012) (with Michael Abramowicz).

Race Effects on eBay, working paper (2011) (with Mahzarin Banaji and Christine Jolls).

Paying Students to Quit Law School, SLATE (November 18, 2011) (with Akhil Reed Amar).

Meador Lecture: Using Commitment Contracts to Further Ex Ante Freedoms: The Twin Problems of Substitution and Ego Depletion, 62 Alabama Law Review 811 (2011).

The $500 Diet: Weight Loss for People Who Are Committed to Change (Kindle Singles, 2011). Read an Excerpt. Free iTunes Audio Download.

Randomizing Law, 159 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 929 (2011) (with Michael Abramowicz & Yair Listokin).

Schwartz Lecture, Never Say No: The Law, Economics and Psychology of Counteroffers, 25 Ohio State Law Review 603 (2010).

Bring on the Share Economy in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (Sept. 13, 2010).

Make A Commitment in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (August 30, 2010).

Despite Court Ruling, Congress Can Still Limit Campaign Finance, Washington Post (Jan. 26, 2010) (with Bruce Ackerman).

A Market Test for Credit Cards in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (June 25, 2009).

Crazy Eddie’s House Sale, Slate (June 1, 2009), (with Daniel Markovits).

A Voluntary Gas Tax in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (March 16, 2009).

Studies in Contract Law (7th edition, Foundation Press, 2008) (with Richard E. Speidel) (formerly Murphy, Speidel and Ayres).

Your Personal Climate Exchange in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (November 24, 2008).

An Equity Kicker 113 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (May 19, 2008).

Lose Weight? Bet On It, Los Angeles Times (Jan. 27, 2008).

Now, the customer’s always managed, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Oct. 8, 2007) (Audio).

Cupid and Colleges 87 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (May 9, 2007). 

For the Love of the Game 54 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (March 12, 2007).

Tradable Patent Rights, 60 Stanford Law Review 863 (2007) (with Gideon Parchomovsky).

Privatizing Employment Protection, 49 Arizona Law Review 587 (2007) (with Jennifer Gerarda Brown).

Environmental Atonement 87 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (Dec. 25, 2006).

Skin in the Game 161 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (Nov. 13, 2006).

A Way to Stop Pretexting, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Sept. 11, 2006) (Real Audio).

New Rules for Promissory Fraud, 48 Arizona Law Review 957 (2006) (with Gregory Klass).

The Hollow Promise: Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Policies, 24 Association of Corporate Counsel Docket 48 (Oct. 2006) (with Richard F. Ober, Jr.).

Promises, not policies, Yale Alumni Magazine 32 (Sept./Oct. 2006).

Written Statement, Disparity Studies as Evidence of Discrimination in Federal Contracting, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (May 2006).

Ya-HUH: There Are and Should Be Penalty Defaults, Florida State University Law Review, 33 Florida State University Law Review 589 (2006).

Promissory Fraud, 78 New York State Bar Association Journal 26 (May 2006) (with Gregory Klass).

The Ticket to Savings 176 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (May 22, 2006).

Menus Matter, 73 University of Chicago Law Review 3 (2006).

First Amendment Bargains,18 Yale J. L. & Humanities 178 (2006).

Mark(et)ing Nondiscrimination: Privatizing ENDA with a Certification Mark, 104 Michigan Law Review 1639 (2006) (with Jennifer Gerarda Brown) (excel GAO analysis), featured in New York Times Sunday Magazine The Year in Ideas (Dec. 11, 2005).

Mortgage Your Retirement in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), 150 (Nov. 14, 2005) (excel data).

Promises to Keep 78 in Forbes (with Barry Nalebuff), (July 4, 2005).

Insincere Promises: The Law of Misrepresented Intent (Yale University Press 2005) (with Gregory Klass).

Winner of the 2006 Scribes Book Award “for the best work of legal scholarship published during the previous year.”

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More infomation.

Optional Law: The Structure of Legal Entitlements (University of Chicago Press, 2005). (STATA dataset) (STATA do file).

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Order From U. Chicago Press.

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Promissory Fraud Without Breach, 2004 Wisconsin Law Review 507 (2004) (with Gregory Klass).

Cellphone Sleuth, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Aug. 20, 2004) (Real Audio).

The Wrong Ticket to Ride, New York Times A29 (March 24, 2004) (with Barry Nalebuff).

Instantaneous Liability Rule Auctions: The Continuous Extention of Higher-Order Liability Rules, (working paper 2004) (with Sergey I. Knysh and Paul M. Goldbart)

In Praise of Honest Pricing, 45 MIT Sloan Management Review 24 (Fall 2003)(with Barry Nalebuff).

Want to Call Me? Pay Me!, Wall Street Journal A24 (Oct. 8, 2003) (with Barry Nalebuff).

Dialing for Dollars, New York Times A29 (Sept. 30, 2003).

Blackboxes for Cars, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff),(Sept. 16, 2003) (Real Audio).

Sarbanes/Oxley’s First Birthday, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (July 30, 2003) (Real Audio).

Studies in Contract Law (6th edition, Foundation Press, 2003) (with Edward J. Murphy & Richard E. Speidel). Buy a copy.

Valuing Modern Contract Scholarship, 112 Yale Law Journal 881 (2003).

Correlated Values in the Theory of Property and Liability Rules, 32 Journal of Legal Studies 121 (2003) (with Paul Goldbart).

Marketing Privacy, 20 Yale Journal on Regulation 77 (2003) (with Matthew Funk). 

Pay Per Mile Auto Insurance, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Feb. 25, 2003) (Real Audio).

Internalizing Outsider Trading, 101 Michigan Law Review 313 (2002) (with Stephen Choi).

Spoiling Spam, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Dec. 24, 2002) (Real Audio).

Virtual Strikes, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Oct. 4, 2002) (Real Audio).

Disclosuring’ hidden fees to consumers, Public Radio Commentary for Marketplace (with Barry Nalebuff), (Aug. 28, 2002) (Real Audio).

Optimal Delegation and Decoupling in the Design of Liability Rules, 100 Michigan Law Review 1 (2001) (with Paul Goldbart).

Connecticut’s Speeder-Friendly Crackdown, New York Times, p. A19, col. 2 (August 31, 2001) (with Barry Nalebuff).

Why Telemarketers Should Pay Us, Hartford Courant, p. A15, col. 3 (May 10, 2001) (with Matthew Funk).

Monetize Labor Practices, 26 Boston Review 18 (February-March 2001).

Empire or Residue: Competing Visions of the Contractual Canon, in Legal Canons 47 (J.M. Balkin and S. Levinson, eds.) (2000).

Threatening Inefficient Performance, 44 European Economic Review 818 (2000) (with Kristin Madison).

Threatening Inefficient Performance of Injunctions and Contracts, 148 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 45 (1999) (with Kristin Madison).

The Employment Contract, 8 Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy 71 (1999) (with Stewart Schwab).

Majoritarian v. Minoritarian Defaults, 51 Stanford Law Review 1591 (1999) (with Robert Gertner).

1998 Ladd Lecture: Empire or Residue: Competing Visions of the Contractual Canon, 26 Florida State Law Review 897 (1999).

Discrediting the Free Market, 66 University of Chicago Law Review 273 (1999).

1998 Monsanto Lecture in Tort Reform and Jurisprudence: Protecting Property With Puts, 32 Valparaiso University Law Review 793 (1998).

Default Rules for Incomplete Contracts, The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law, Vol. A-D 585 (Peter Newman, ed., 1998).

Three Proposals To Harness Private Information in Contract, 21 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 135 (1997).

The Twin Faces of Judicial Corruption: Extortion and Bribery, 74 Denver University Law Review 1231 (1997).

Common Knowledge As A Barrier to Negotiation, 44 UCLA Law Review 1631 (1997) (with Barry Nalebuff).


Studies in Contract Law (5th edition, Foundation Press, 1997) (with Edward J. Murphy & Richard E. Speidel). Buy a copy.

Car Buying, Made Simpler, New York Times F12 (April 13, 1997) (with Peter Schuck).

Legal Entitlements as Auctions: Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Beyond, 106 Yale Law Journal 703 (1997) (with Jack Balkin).

Distinguishing Between Consensual and Nonconsensual Advantages of Liability Rules, 105 Yale Law Journal 235 (1995) (with Eric Talley).

Review, The Limits of Freedom of Contract, by Michael J. Trebilcock, 33 Journal of Economic Literature 865 (1995).

Solomonic Bargaining: Dividing A Legal Entitlement To Facilitate Coasean Trade, 104 Yale Law Journal 1027 (1995) (with Eric Talley).

Economic Rationales For Mediation, 80 Virginia Law Review 323 (1994) (with Jennifer Brown).

Preliminary Thoughts on Optimal Tailoring of Contractual Rules, 3 Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 1 (1993).

Mutual and Unilateral Mistake in Contract Law, 22 Journal of Legal Studies 309 (1993) (with Eric Rasmusen).

Making a Difference: The Contractual Contributions of Easterbrook and Fischel, 59 University of Chicago Law Review 1391 (1992), reprinted in 35 Corporate Practice Commentator 65 (1993).

Strategic Contractual Inefficiency and the Optimal Choice of Legal Rules, 101 Yale Law Journal 729 (1992) (with Rob Gertner).

The Possibility of Inefficient Corporate Contracts, 60 Cincinnati Law Review 387 (1991).

“I’ll Sell It To You at Cost:” Legal Methods to Promote Retail Markup Disclosure, 84 Northwestern Law Review 1047 (1990) (with F. Clayton Miller).

Filling Gaps in Incomplete Contracts: An Economic Theory of Default Rules, 99 Yale Law Journal 87 (1989) (with Robert Gertner).