AUTORITA' ED EFFICIENZA: E' POSSIBILE UN'ECONOMIA DEL DIRITTO PUBBLICO?

This article explores the possibility of applying the tools of the Law and Economics to public law. The first part investigates constitutional law issues through the social contract framework. The constitutional dilemma through the analysis of constitutional preferences may be transformed in a game with a full cooperation equilibrium. It can be shown that rawlsian preferences better facilitate the constitutional agreement. In the second part the question of what are the most efficient procedures to solve market failures is addressed. Considering the case of negative externalities the article discusses when is better to resort to regulatory solutions rather than judicial ones. It is put forward that in terms of cost-benefit analysis the economic theory reaches much less radical conclusions than the prevailing Coase’s thinking.