Juris Prudence : Calabresi's Uneasy Relationship with the Coase Theorem

Guido Calabresi's scholarly career has intersected the Coase theorem at several points — from an early primitive formulation of an idea similar to that elaborated by Coase in Calabresi's pioneering 1961 paper presenting an economic analysis of tort law to applications of the theorem in contexts as varied as medical malpractice and the allocation of body parts, to several direct commentaries on the theorem itself. This paper explores Calabresi's discussion and use of the Coase theorem over the last five decades, focusing both on how Calabresi viewed the theorem and its import and on how this informs our understanding of Calabresi's perspective on the economic analysis of law