A. Mitchell Polinsky
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A. Mitchell Polinsky
- Josephine Scott Crocker Professor of Law and Economics
- Room N364, Neukom Building
Expertise
- Law & Economics
Biography
Director, John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics; Professor (by courtesy) of Economics; Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
A pioneering American figure in the applications of economic theory to law, A. Mitchell Polinsky is a prolific scholar, producing work on the economic analysis of a wide variety of legal issues, from property to contract law to liability and punitive damages. He has written major articles on the economic efficiency of various forms of legal sanctions in achieving deterrence across a range of problems, including criminal law, contract, and tort disputes. Professor Polinsky is the founder and director of the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics at Stanford Law School. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a president of the American Law and Economics Association, and is currently a research associate in the Law and Economics Program of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1979, he was a member of the faculty at Harvard University.
Professor Polinsky has an appointment (by courtesy) with the Stanford University Department of Economics.
Education
- BA Harvard University 1970
- PhD (economics) Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1973
- MSL (Master of Studies in Law) Yale Law School 1976
Related Organizations
Courses
Affiliations & Honors
- Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
- President (1993-1994), American Law and Economics Association
- Guggenheim fellow, 1993-94
- Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1997-1998
Key Works
News
Stanford Law Professor Finds Rewarding Good Behavior of Prisoners Is Good for Society
In any penal system, controlling the misbehavior of prisoners is challenging and costly. However, reducing the operational costs of prisons is possible when good behavior is rewarded, a Stanford professor says. It is always socially desirable to reward good behavior with either a reduced sentence or parole, according to A.…
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