Programme Structure

Students can choose to follow one of three different tracks in the EMLE programme: the ‘Economic Analysis of Markets, Corporations & Regulators track’ (MCR), the ‘Economic Analysis of Public & International Law track’ (Public), and the ‘Economic Analysis of Innovation and Intellectual Property track’ (IP). While in the first term the courses are the same across all tracks and universities, specialization starts in the second term with two specialized courses per track and three courses that will be the same across the different tracks and university partners. The third term finalizes the chosen specialization with two courses that are unique to the chosen track and university, and the final thesis written under supervision of a professor from the third term University. Below you can find more information about the courses of each of the tracks.

Students are not obliged to follow a track but will earn a recognizing certificate if they do so. If students decide not to follow a track, they may choose the universities to study at freely, always based on availability of spots per university. In this, however, they need to follow the general mobility rules of the programme: all students need to study at least at two different universities (one of which at least from a European country), which have to be different from the country of residence of the student at the time of enrolment. Therefore, students who wish to study at Haifa, Arizona or Mumbai, our three non-European partners, will have to choose at least one other European partner to spend their EMLE year. Also, if a student listed, for example, the Netherlands as country of residence in his/her application, he/she can only spend one term in Rotterdam and has to choose two different partner universities for the other two terms (i.e., not possible to spend the first and second term in Rotterdam).

You can find more information on each course and on the thesis by clicking or tapping on the interactive elements in the graphic above.
Arizona is conditional upon formal approval

The master level of the programme is documented through the use of a constitutive method (economic analysis) on a particular subject (law).

The programme duration is one academic year, consisting of three terms; the first term comprises introductory courses as well as core courses on the major topics in the economic analysis of law, although the composition and structure of the materials used in the courses vary slightly. In the second term students take specialized courses, within the specialization of their chosen track. In the third term further specialized courses are offered and students will write their master’s thesis.

The programme is steered by the EMLE Management Board, which supervises the management and handles decision-making on key matters.


Duration

The programme covers one academic year, for which successful students will receive 60 ECTS. The academic year (1 October – 30 September) is divided into three terms. The first term starts in the first week of October, and lasts until the end of December. The second term lasts from January until the end of March. The third term starts in the first week of April and the last classes are generally in June. The thesis deadline is in mid-August each year. The unique international and interdisciplinary character of the EMLE Programme is secured through an intensive co-operation between seven European Universities and two non-European partners.

Students may study at up to three different universities but cannot spend all terms at the same location. Students have to study at least at two different universities (one of which at least from a European country), which have to be different from the country of residence of the student at the time of enrolment.  In the first two terms students can choose among three teaching universities This leads to an average class size of up to 35 students, given a maximum of 105 admitted students in the entire program. In the last term students have the choice of six different locations leading to a slightly smaller class size compared to the first two terms.


Terms & Courses

The first term courses and most of the second term courses are introductory courses as well as core courses on the major topics in the economic analysis of law.

In the third term, students take specialized courses and write their master thesis.

The programme includes three kinds of courses:

Economics courses: In order to make law students more familiar with basic economic reasoning, some courses are more economics-oriented.

Comparative Law courses: Some courses deal with comparative law in order to internationalize the legal background of the students. Please note that references to law in all courses will be of a comparative kind, due to the European character of the programme and the international composition of the student body.

Law and Economics courses: Most courses deal with the economic analysis of the most important branches of private, public, international and European law.

For the syllabi of the different EMLE courses please click here. For an overview of the curriculum including the number of ECTS (workload) per subject, click here.

The EMLE is a full time programme. As such, we discourage taking a side job, since you have to be available for classes during the week. Class attendance is obligatory (apart from Introduction to Law and Introduction to Microeconomics), except in case of absence for documented medical reasons or other exceptional circumstances.

All courses are taught in English. The thesis has to be written in either English or the third term local language, if the latter is not the student’s mother tongue.

Eight shared courses

All five first term courses in Haifa, Rotterdam and Hamburg are the same across the different partner Universities. In the second term, three courses are the same for each University (Ghent, Hamburg and Rotterdam). You can find out more about the shared courses below.


First term courses

Introduction to Law (2 ECTS)

This course provides a general introduction to the law and to the study of law. Students will become acquainted with the main fields of law: private law, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law. Specific attention will be paid to the basic differences between common law and civil law systems and to the relationship between national laws and European law. Besides the study and discussion of literature, students will train specific legal skills, such as the use of statutes, the analysis of judgments and the solution of legal cases. This course seeks to:

– Harmonize levels of understanding of law among lawyers and economists in the EMLE programme
– Facilitate among lawyers from various countries an understanding of basic legal concepts and doctrines across legal system
– Introduce both lawyers & economists to legal concepts and methods that are instrumental in the field of law and economics.

Introduction to Microeconomics (2 ECTS)

Economic analysis of law investigates legal rules and enforcement from an efficiency perspective.  The main purpose of this course is to equip students with the fundamental set of conceptual tools of microeconomics, which can be applied to different economic and regulatory problems. After dwelling into the analytics of consumers’ and producers’ choice, the course discusses the main market structures, risk and uncertainty, and market failures.

Concepts and Methods of Law and Economics (4 ECTS)

This course offers an introduction to the basic concepts and methods of law and economics. It illustrates the broad utility of these tools by way of applications to the analysis of various core areas of law. This course does not aim to develop practical skills or new insights, but rather to show the broad utility of economic analysis of law. By combining examples from various areas of law, students will learn that the economic approach to law provides a unified vision of the law, tying together diverse areas of the law into a common theoretical structure.

Economic Analysis of Public Law (4 ECTS)

This course offers an introduction to the economic analysis of regulation, which is broadly interpreted as government intervention in market processes. The course illustrates the purposes of regulatory intervention from a welfare economics perspective, and it discusses the tension between public and private interest in regulatory choices. A special focus of this course is on issues of European regulation and on cost-benefit analysis.

Economic Analysis of Private Law (8 ECTS)

This double course aims at giving students an overview of the most important insights from the economic analysis of private law. It combines economic analysis of property law, tort law, and contract law. As far as property law is concerned, the course integrates the legal and the economic approach to ownership and illustrates costs and benefits of different ways to protect entitlements. As far as tort law is concerned, the course offers a comparative analysis of the legal principles from an economic perspective, particularly regarding the structure of liability, the damage compensation, and the insurance. As far as contract law is concerned, the course illustrates its goals and functions from an economic perspective. Moreover, it aims to provide a functional understanding of the spectrum of feasible contracts and of their use in legal practice.


Second term courses

In addition to the common courses below, each second term university provides two unique courses following the specialization track. More information about these are given in the other tabs.

Empirical Legal Studies (4 ECTS)

Modern law and economics is unthinkable without empirical tests. This course makes students familiar with the most important aspects of such tests from the design stage, to the collection of data to the actual estimate of simple econometric models. It is a “hands on” course including many practical exercises. Students of this course will learn to:

– Think creatively about research design
– Describe the data
– Understand OLS regressions
– Understand empirical research as it relates to causality

Corporate Governance and Finance (4 ECTS)

Economic efficiency may be undermined by misallocation of financial resources. This course discusses corporate law and financial regulation from the perspective of the correction of financial markets failure. The course focuses on the various legal, contractual and extra-legal mechanisms available to protect (minority) shareholders and other stakeholders from the self-serving behaviour of managers and of controlling shareholders. Moreover, the course addresses the problem of financial distress and its consequences for the financing of private and public enterprises, as well as for financial stability.

Competition Law & Economics (4 ECTS)

Competition policy (also called “antitrust policy”) is a term used broadly to describe intervention by public authorities to ensure competition in markets for goods and services. This course aims at making students familiar with the application of economic arguments in European competition law. Comparisons with U.S. antitrust law are included where appropriate for a better understanding of cases and the implications of legislation and court rulings on economic efficiency.

Second term specialized courses in the Public track

The ‘Economic Analysis of Public & International Law’ track is connected to Hamburg in the second term. Here, the following two specialized courses are taught at the University of Hamburg:

Economic Analysis of Constitutions (4 ECTS)

This course aims at providing students an overview of the fast growing field of constitutional law & economics. After laying the groundwork (why an economic theory of the constitution? What concepts of the constitution are used – and useful?), it delves into the normative analysis of constitutions (Rawls, Buchanan).

The main focus is, however, on positive issues. These can be separated into the (economic) effects of constitutions on the one hand and the determinants of constitutions on the other. The effects of a number of constitutional rules such as the form of government, the electoral system, and the use of direct democracy will be analyzed.  After having shown that constitutions can have far-reaching effects, the course asks how the differences between constitutions can be explained. The course closes with a discussion of open questions such as the gap between de jure constitutional rules and their actual implementation.

Throughout this course, comparative and quantitative analyses will occupy center stage.

Economic Analysis of International Law (4 ECTS)

The economic analysis of international law is a relatively young area of Law & Economics. Many exciting questions have been posed but few have been answered convincingly. The course begins by formulating a number of essential questions with regard to central issues of international law from an economic point of view.  The course deals with the sources of international law as well as the role of international organizations in its implementation.  It also discusses the relevance of domestic institutions for the implementation of international law. A large chunk of the course is devoted to analyze specific areas of international law (such as investment, trade, but also human rights and refugee law) from an economic point of view.


Third term specialized courses in the Public track

During the third term, students can choose to go to one of the following three locations. The courses taught at each university are listed below them.

Mumbai

Law & Economics of Development: Foundations (2.5 ECTS)

The course introduces students to fundamental development problems, issues faced by developing nations, debates on the relationship between law and (economic) development and exposes them to the diversity of international experience regarding legal interventions to promote development. It hopes to encourage students to go beyond multi-country/period statistical analyses and study the interface between law and economy as if both space and time, i.e., the historical context, mattered and appreciate the mutually constitute relationship between law, legal institutions, and economy.

The course begins with an introduction to various economic perspectives on the relationship between law and development and then gradually complicates the narrative by bringing in multidisciplinary critiques, historical studies, and case studies on recent law and development interventions across the world.

Selected topics: Lives of Poor, Vicious cycle of Poverty, Classical ideas such as Balanced and Unbalanced Growth, Development as choice among multiple equilibria: Nurkse equilibrium, Development through growth convergence and Two Sector Models: Arthur Lewis and Harris-Todaro Model of Migration. Child labor, Sexual harassment and Free Contract. Role of Property Rights in Economic Development: Basic model, optimal assignment of property rights, state capacity and property rights; Focal point approach to Law in Developing Countries: Coordination and Information. Political Economy, Law and Land Reform. Introduction to the inter-relationship between Law and Development; Analysis of Law, Finance and Economic Development; Competing hypotheses: Legal origins, Colonial history, Political economy, Institutional stability, or Transplant effect; Country and regional case studies; and Law and Society.

Law & Economics of Development: Institutions (2.5 ECTS)

This course is designed to expose the student to fundamental theoretical perspectives and empirical research that have developed over the years to study the emergence and functions of institutions, with special emphasis placed on law as an institution. Insights gained in the course will be helpful in understanding the role of institutions in development, and in analysing the process of economic change.

The course is divided into four main sections, namely (i) why study institutions matter (ii) theoretical perspectives in institutional economics (iii) how institutions matter, and (iv) understanding institutional evolution. Topics covered under these sections include how social, political and legal institutions impact economic development, bounded rationality and institutions, the function of institutions in mitigating collective action problems,  rent seeking, interest groups and policy formulation, role of institutions in reduction of transaction costs, the role of rules and norms in coordinating and protecting institutions, and the role of behavioral interdependencies and path dependencies in institutional evolution. Case studies, cross-country empirical analyses and real world examples, particularly with respect to emerging economies, will be discussed along with each theoretical topic to help the student gain a practical understanding of how institutions function to facilitate/inhibit economic development.

Hamburg

European Union Law & Economics (2.5 ECTS)

This course is devoted to an economic analysis of EU integration. We shall evaluate the case for economic integration in fields such as free movement of goods, free movement of workers, freedom of establishment, free movement of services and of capital. Understanding the legal framework and the lawmaking process is crucial for a complete picture of the EU. The course will also consider the economics of the Euro as a single currency, the design of the Eurozone, and the consequences of the financial crisis.

Law & Economics of International Trade & Investment (2.5 ECTS)

This course aims at enabling students to carry out the economic analysis of international trade and investment law autonomously and independently. This promises to be an intellectual challenge as the economic analysis of international law is still in its infancy.

Rome

Experimental Law and Economics (3 ECTS)

Students will start with learning what experiments are and how they can be used both to advance our understanding of the world and to design better public policies, regulations and laws. We will then quickly overview the foundations of experimental methodology both in the lab and in the field. Students will thus be introduced to behavioural studies of human cognition and social interactions. Experiments have been key to the emergence of the field of behavioural law and economics and experiments are key to test the policies that exploit behavioural biases and social preferences (nudges).

Selected topics: Cognitive Biases: loss aversion, ambiguity aversion, endowment effect, status quo bias etc. Social preferences and social norms. Preferences for conformity and expressive function of law. Randomization and causal inference. Treatment manipulation. Experimental design. Experimental software (z-tree) and paper & pencil techniques. Property law: the endowment effect, taking aversion and the hawk & Dove game. Contract law: specific performance and loss aversion. Criminal law: distributional and fairness concerns, adjudicative errors. Consumer choice. Behavioural Regulation, Nudging: persistence, acceptance and crowding out effects.

Better Regulation (2 ECTS)

Students will approach all stages of the regulatory process, from rulemaking to institutional framework and enforcement, and they will acquire tools to improve the flow and the stock of regulation used at national, European and international level. Students will also familiarize with a large body of evidence from cognitive sciences that is relevant to regulation and will discover how it is being currently used in the regulatory process. Another learning goal concerns the analysis of the impact of cognitive sciences on the regulatory toolkit.

Selected topics: Economic regulation over the course of the twentieth century; What does good regulation mean, and what are its core elements?; Regulation and competition; Cognitive-based approach to regulation; New regulatory tools: nudging and cognitive empowerment; Tools for better regulation in the regulatory life-cycle: Impact Assessment; Competition Impact Assessment; Assessing regulatory burdens; Plain language drafting; Regulatory Enforcement.

Warsaw

Tax Law and Economics (2.5 ECTS)

The course is devoted to delivering the knowledge on tax Law analysis with emphasis on International Taxation through the prism of Law and Economics. Starting with the possible applications of Law and Economics framework to the specific goals of taxation, showing the interconnection between law, public economics and corporate finance within the international tax law and economics topics. Continuing, the course provides the state of the art behavioral public finance overview of the problems of neoclassical approach to optimal taxation, by presenting the behavioral modeling approach to the commodity and income taxation. Following lecture is devoted the role of corrective taxation in a tax system and it’s impact on efficiency and regulation of negative externalities. After establishing the theoretical framework of tax law and economics, the course will introduce students to the general characteristics of international taxation as well as specific topics of international double taxation, transfer pricing and international tax compliance in detail.

International Financial Markets and Regulators (2.5 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to present the mosaic system of domestic and international supervision over the financial market from the EU perspective and outside of the European Union. The European Union has been active within the financial sector, in particular after the financial crises of 2009. Students will learn about institutions involved in the European supervision, e.g. European Central Bank as well as they will be taught about various regulations over financial market incluing outside oft he European Union.

Selected topics: Microprudential v. macroprudential supervision; Three pillars of European Banking Union: Single Supervisory Mechanism, Single Resolution Mechanism, European Deposit Insurance Scheme; Capital Market Union; European Supervisory Institutions: European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority,  European Securities and Markets Authority.

Special topics: Capital Requirements Directive 4 (CRD); Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR); Market Abuse Regulation (MAR); Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRDD); Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2 (MIFID 2); Payment System Directive 2 (PSD 2).

Second term specialized courses in the MCR track

The track ‘Economic Analysis of Markets, Corporations & Regulators’ is linked to Rotterdam in the second term. The following specialized courses are taught:

Advanced Economics of Regulation (4 ECTS)

This course aims to provide students with specialized knowledge in topical fields of economic and social regulation, including applications of competition policy to specific industries. To this purpose, the course supports guest lectures by field experts, who are either academics or professionals with a law and economics background, or both. Students are supposed to be already familiar with the methodology of economic analysis of regulation in order to bring the discussion to a more advanced level. This course prepares the students to use their skills both scientifically and in policymaking. The contents of the course are updated yearly. The topics include inter alia regulation of liberal professions, public utilities, environmental regulations and recent developments in competition policy.

Markets, Corporations and Regulators Moot Court (4 ECTS)

This course is designed to provide students with advanced skills on the enforcement of law in the field of regulation of markets. In particular, students learn how to use economic arguments and economic evidence in real-life cases in courts and/or regulatory agencies. The course is organized in a moot court format. Students must take the role of plaintiffs, defendants, regulators or regulatees. They are supposed to base their arguments and decisions, both orally and in writing, on economic analysis of law. The topics include inter alia competition law, product liability, mergers and acquisitions, financial and consumer law.


Third term specialized courses in the MCR track

During the third term in the MCR track, students can chose to go to one of the below four locations. The courses taught at each university are listed below them.

Warsaw

International Corporate Governance (2.5 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to present the interdisciplinary concept of corporate governance by analyzing institutions and mechanisms of corporation supervision as well as institutions and mechanisms ensuring management accountability. In different economic systems, different mechanisms and institutions of management supervision have emerged. Hence, the course takes the systemic view of the governance structures found around the world. A systems view tries to discover the ”internal logic” of a set of corporate governance mechanisms and institutions – how well do the components fit together? After the course students are capable of blocks building of corporate governance system as well as know the corporate governance mechanisms and their appropriateness of an entire system.

Selected topics: roots and perspectives of corporate governance, market governance, managerial incentives and corporate governance, ownership around the globe, debt governance, internal corporate governance (composition, structure and tasks of board of directors), board leadership, whether and how gender diversity matters for corporate governance, the rise of compliance, internal audit and risk functions, and corporate governance and economic development.

International Financial Markets and Regulators (2.5 ECTS)

The aim of the course is to present the mosaic system of domestic and international supervision over the financial market from the EU perspective and outside of the European Union. The European Union has been active within the financial sector, in particular after the financial crises of 2009. Students will learn about institutions involved in the European supervision, e.g. European Central Bank as well as they will be taught about various regulations over financial market incluing outside oft he European Union.

Selected topics: Microprudential v. macroprudential supervision; Three pillars of European Banking Union: Single Supervisory Mechanism, Single Resolution Mechanism, European Deposit Insurance Scheme; Capital Market Union; European Supervisory Institutions: European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority,  European Securities and Markets Authority.

Special topics: Capital Requirements Directive 4 (CRD); Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR); Market Abuse Regulation (MAR); Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRDD); Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2 (MIFID 2); Payment System Directive 2 (PSD 2).

Rome

Experimental Law and Economics (3 ECTS)

Students will start with learning what experiments are and how they can be used both to advance our understanding of the world and to design better public policies, regulations and laws. We will then quickly overview the foundations of experimental methodology both in the lab and in the field. Students will thus be introduced to behavioural studies of human cognition and social interactions. Experiments have been key to the emergence of the field of behavioural law and economics and experiments are key to test the policies that exploit behavioural biases and social preferences (nudges).

Selected topics: Cognitive Biases: loss aversion, ambiguity aversion, endowment effect, status quo bias etc. Social preferences and social norms. Preferences for conformity and expressive function of law. Randomization and causal inference. Treatment manipulation. Experimental design. Experimental software (z-tree) and paper & pencil techniques. Property law: the endowment effect, taking aversion and the hawk & Dove game. Contract law: specific performance and loss aversion. Criminal law: distributional and fairness concerns, adjudicative errors. Consumer choice. Behavioural Regulation, Nudging: persistence, acceptance and crowding out effects.

Better Regulation (2 ECTS)

Students will approach all stages of the regulatory process, from rulemaking to institutional framework and enforcement, and they will acquire tools to improve the flow and the stock of regulation used at national, European and international level. Students will also familiarize with a large body of evidence from cognitive sciences that is relevant to regulation and will discover how it is being currently used in the regulatory process. Another learning goal concerns the analysis of the impact of cognitive sciences on the regulatory toolkit.

Selected topics: Economic regulation over the course of the twentieth century; What does good regulation mean, and what are its core elements?; Regulation and competition; Cognitive-based approach to regulation; New regulatory tools: nudging and cognitive empowerment; Tools for better regulation in the regulatory life-cycle: Impact Assessment; Competition Impact Assessment; Assessing regulatory burdens; Plain language drafting; Regulatory Enforcement.

Aix-en-Provence

Legal Framework for the Digital Economy (2.5 ECTS)

The course aims at providing a thorough and rigorous analysis of the legal issues that follow from the deep effects that the Internet and digital technologies have (i) on the structure of existing markets, (ii) on the creation of new markets, and (iii) on the strategies that economic agents (firms, consumers and regulators) deploy on these various markets.

The tools of the theory of industrial organization are used to understand a wide array of online market phenomena, including multi-sided platforms, impacts of ‘big data’ (targeted advertising and pricing, recommendation systems, privacy), net neutrality and online business models. The course makes use of case studies to make parallels between theory and reality.

At the end of the course, students should be able to (i) master an array of specific concepts from the theory of industrial organization, so as (ii) to understand how the Internet affects the working of markets, (iii) as well as the strategies implemented by firms, consumers and regulators on these markets, and (iv) to apply these theoretical concepts to inform public policy.

Selected topics: Software Platforms, Mobile Telephony, Two-sided B2B platforms, Online-Offline Competition; Digital Piracy: Theory; Digital Piracy: Empirics; Privacy; Internet Security

Competition Law for New Business Models (2.5 ECTS)

The course will first establish, via real life examples, that the production of goods and services is more than ever best characterized as a discovery process driven by an entrepreneurial spirit that constantly shifts the lines of the pre-existing markets and, as a matter of fact, invents new ways of developing profitable businesses (Google, Facebook, Smart phones, Block chains, etc).  Starting from this analysis, the course will explore the relevance of the traditional concept of competition law (e.g. monopoly’s dead weight losses, SSNIP test or essential facility doctrine for a platform business) and their recent evolution. The course will also re-examine the articulation between, on one hand, ex ante regulation and, on the other hand, ex post correction via competition law in this new market environment. Finally, the role of intellectual property rights and their connection with the dynamic efficiency of markets will be investigated.

Selected topics: Static versus Dynamic efficiency; The regulation of Electronic Payment Systems; The economics of internet hardware; Price Discrimination in the Digital Economy; Mobile Telephony

Arizona*

Justice Law and Capitalism (2.5 ECTS)

This course is divided in two parts.

The first part will expand the study of law and economics analysis (both theoretical and empirical) to the study of ethics. This will include an introduction to normative ethics, the problem of deontological and ethical preferences, justice theories and L&E and the connection between L&E and political philosophy.

The second part of the course will focus on the application of the law, economics, and ethics method to a specific subject matter. The focus of the course for this academic year will thus be on Law, Economics, and Ethics of Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG. This includes CSR, market failures and government failures, the supply and demand models of CSR-ESG, from ESG to divisive moral goods, the aggregation problem, the moral corporation versus freedom, equality, procedural values and doux commerce. Finally, the course will also feature distinguished speakers who will relate their experience – and practical insights – about the rise of ESG in the corporate world, including executives at major US corporations and top corporate lawyers. In particular, the EMLE students will be required to attend at least three of the COL Mundheim Speaker Series, in which COL Prof. Robert Mundheim, former Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, moderates informal conversations with national leaders in business and law, relating their experiences in and perspectives about corporate governance, markets, ethics, and career development (see this page for more information).

Regulation of Emerging Technologies (2.5 ECTS)

This course focuses on the legal regulation of computer technology; the liminal effects of certain such technologies; and emerging issues in the fields of law and computer science. The theoretical background for the course will be Larry Lessig’s “four forces” (law, code, markets, and social norms) along with select computer science concepts such as the classic CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability), fundamentals of object-oriented programming, and the end-to-end design principles of the early Internet. Core themes of the class will include (i) the interplay between governance by law and the horizon of technical capabilities created by computer science, and (ii) the tradeoffs that exist between an efficiency vs. a right­based approach to computer science, and how these tradeoffs can be normatively solved. Relatedly, the course will also expose students to some of the major ethical issues arising from computer science such as the ethics of coding and AI.
After setting out the framework material, the course will move into a series of modules addressing current controversies in the field, including:

Selected topics: The L&E of intellectual property protection, open access / open source regimes, and the reuse of materials created by others; Distributed platforms such as blockchain protocols (e.g., Ethereum) and P2P protocols (e.g., BitTorrent); The hacking ethos and ecosystem; Cyberwarfare and cybersecurity; FinTech; Machine learning models, “artificial intelligence”, and related social concerns (e.g., facial recognition, bias / fairness, transparency, creativity, accountability); AI and externalities; Encryption, surveillance, and anonymity; Resilient design; Internet of Things; Other autonomous systems such as drones / weapon systems, and human comparisons; The ethics of coding.

* Conditional upon formal approval

Second term specialized courses in the Innovation & IP track

The ‘Innovation & IP’ track is connected to Ghent in the second term. Here, the following two courses are taught:

Economic Analysis of Intellectual Property (4 ECTS)

This course will introduce students to the intersection between intellectual property law and economics. Topics range from the economic justification of intellectual property law, the enforcement of intellectual property, the political economy of intellectual property protection, as well as empirical studies of the effects of intellectual property rights on incentives and the level of creativity and innovation in society. The course will focus on copyright law, patent law, trademark law, and trade secrets.

Selected topics: Economics of creativity and innovation; Economics of copyright law; Economics of patent law; Economics of trademark law; Economics of trade secret protection.

Economics of Innovation (4 ECTS)

This course discusses advanced topics in contract law and economics with a focus on contexts of innovation and creativity. Through the lens of principal-agent-theory, we examine topics such as the function of contracts in innovative relations, contract design of venture capitalists, problems of crowdfunding, and the interaction of incentive schemes and creative output. A sound understanding of basic game-theoretic concepts of economic theory of contracts is a strongly suggested prerequisite for this course. While economic theory will be the methodological focus, the course accounts for insights from behavioral and experimental economics where appropriate.


Third term specialized courses in the Innovation & IP track

During the third term, students can chose to go to one of the following four locations. The courses taught at each university are listed below them.

Mumbai

Law & Economics of Development: Foundations (2.5 ECTS)

The course introduces students to fundamental development problems, issues faced by developing nations, debates on the relationship between law and (economic) development and exposes them to the diversity of international experience regarding legal interventions to promote development. It hopes to encourage students to go beyond multi-country/period statistical analyses and study the interface between law and economy as if both space and time, i.e., the historical context, mattered and appreciate the mutually constitute relationship between law, legal institutions, and economy.

The course begins with an introduction to various economic perspectives on the relationship between law and development and then gradually complicates the narrative by bringing in multidisciplinary critiques, historical studies, and case studies on recent law and development interventions across the world.

Selected topics: Lives of Poor, Vicious cycle of Poverty, Classical ideas such as Balanced and Unbalanced Growth, Development as choice among multiple equilibria: Nurkse equilibrium, Development through growth convergence and Two Sector Models: Arthur Lewis and Harris-Todaro Model of Migration. Child labor, Sexual harassment and Free Contract. Role of Property Rights in Economic Development: Basic model, optimal assignment of property rights, state capacity and property rights; Focal point approach to Law in Developing Countries: Coordination and Information. Political Economy, Law and Land Reform. Introduction to the inter-relationship between Law and Development; Analysis of Law, Finance and Economic Development; Competing hypotheses: Legal origins, Colonial history, Political economy, Institutional stability, or Transplant effect; Country and regional case studies; and Law and Society.

Law & Economics of Development: Institutions (2.5 ECTS)

This course is designed to expose the student to fundamental theoretical perspectives and empirical research that have developed over the years to study the emergence and functions of institutions, with special emphasis placed on law as an institution. Insights gained in the course will be helpful in understanding the role of institutions in development, and in analysing the process of economic change.

The course is divided into four main sections, namely (i) why study institutions matter (ii) theoretical perspectives in institutional economics (iii) how institutions matter, and (iv) understanding institutional evolution. Topics covered under these sections include how social, political and legal institutions impact economic development, bounded rationality and institutions, the function of institutions in mitigating collective action problems,  rent seeking, interest groups and policy formulation, role of institutions in reduction of transaction costs, the role of rules and norms in coordinating and protecting institutions, and the role of behavioral interdependencies and path dependencies in institutional evolution. Case studies, cross-country empirical analyses and real world examples, particularly with respect to emerging economies, will be discussed along with each theoretical topic to help the student gain a practical understanding of how institutions function to facilitate/inhibit economic development.

Aix-en-Provence

Legal Framework for the Digital Economy (2.5 ECTS)

The course aims at providing a thorough and rigorous analysis of the legal issues that follow from the deep effects that the Internet and digital technologies have (i) on the structure of existing markets, (ii) on the creation of new markets, and (iii) on the strategies that economic agents (firms, consumers and regulators) deploy on these various markets.

The tools of the theory of industrial organization are used to understand a wide array of online market phenomena, including multi-sided platforms, impacts of ‘big data’ (targeted advertising and pricing, recommendation systems, privacy), net neutrality and online business models. The course makes use of case studies to make parallels between theory and reality.

At the end of the course, students should be able to (i) master an array of specific concepts from the theory of industrial organization, so as (ii) to understand how the Internet affects the working of markets, (iii) as well as the strategies implemented by firms, consumers and regulators on these markets, and (iv) to apply these theoretical concepts to inform public policy.

Selected topics: Software Platforms, Mobile Telephony, Two-sided B2B platforms, Online-Offline Competition; Digital Piracy: Theory; Digital Piracy: Empirics; Privacy; Internet Security

Competition Law for New Business Models (2.5 ECTS)

The course will first establish, via real life examples, that the production of goods and services is more than ever best characterized as a discovery process driven by an entrepreneurial spirit that constantly shifts the lines of the pre-existing markets and, as a matter of fact, invents new ways of developing profitable businesses (Google, Facebook, Smart phones, Block chains, etc).  Starting from this analysis, the course will explore the relevance of the traditional concept of competition law (e.g. monopoly’s dead weight losses, SSNIP test or essential facility doctrine for a platform business) and their recent evolution. The course will also re-examine the articulation between, on one hand, ex ante regulation and, on the other hand, ex post correction via competition law in this new market environment. Finally, the role of intellectual property rights and their connection with the dynamic efficiency of markets will be investigated.

Selected topics: Static versus Dynamic efficiency; The regulation of Electronic Payment Systems; The economics of internet hardware; Price Discrimination in the Digital Economy; Mobile Telephony

Barcelona

Advanced Topics in Law and Economics of Innovation (2.5 ECTS)

The course provides a general overview of the problems arising from the interaction between technology and the law. The general economic analysis of contracts, torts and property will be applied to the challenges posed by smart contracts, algorithm contracts, self-driving contracts, the interaction between big data and competition law, the internet of things and the application of products liability and insurance to fully automated devices. Sharing and collaborative economy formulas will also be analyzed in the course.

Advanced Course on Intellectual Property (2.5 ECTS)

The course focuses on the specific issues that the internet poses to the traditional law and governance of intellectual property rights. From an economic perspective, the course deals with the impact of information technologies on intellectual property law regimes, collaborative creativity on the internet and other forms of shared innovations, digital exhaustion and challenges to the enforcement of intellectual property rights and to the application of traditional remedies. The course also deals with the legal and economic rationales behind specific remedies such as disgorgement of profits. The law and economics of technical protection measures and the impact of blockchain technology will also be analysed.

Arizona*

Justice Law and Capitalism (2.5 ECTS)

This course is divided in two parts.

The first part will expand the study of law and economics analysis (both theoretical and empirical) to the study of ethics. This will include an introduction to normative ethics, the problem of deontological and ethical preferences, justice theories and L&E and the connection between L&E and political philosophy.

The second part of the course will focus on the application of the law, economics, and ethics method to a specific subject matter. The focus of the course for this academic year will thus be on Law, Economics, and Ethics of Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG. This includes CSR, market failures and government failures, the supply and demand models of CSR-ESG, from ESG to divisive moral goods, the aggregation problem, the moral corporation versus freedom, equality, procedural values and doux commerce. Finally, the course will also feature distinguished speakers who will relate their experience – and practical insights – about the rise of ESG in the corporate world, including executives at major US corporations and top corporate lawyers. In particular, the EMLE students will be required to attend at least three of the COL Mundheim Speaker Series, in which COL Prof. Robert Mundheim, former Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, moderates informal conversations with national leaders in business and law, relating their experiences in and perspectives about corporate governance, markets, ethics, and career development (see this page for more information).

Regulation of Emerging Technologies (2.5 ECTS)

This course focuses on the legal regulation of computer technology; the liminal effects of certain such technologies; and emerging issues in the fields of law and computer science. The theoretical background for the course will be Larry Lessig’s “four forces” (law, code, markets, and social norms) along with select computer science concepts such as the classic CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability), fundamentals of object-oriented programming, and the end-to-end design principles of the early Internet. Core themes of the class will include (i) the interplay between governance by law and the horizon of technical capabilities created by computer science, and (ii) the tradeoffs that exist between an efficiency vs. a right­based approach to computer science, and how these tradeoffs can be normatively solved. Relatedly, the course will also expose students to some of the major ethical issues arising from computer science such as the ethics of coding and AI.
After setting out the framework material, the course will move into a series of modules addressing current controversies in the field, including:

Selected topics: The L&E of intellectual property protection, open access / open source regimes, and the reuse of materials created by others; Distributed platforms such as blockchain protocols (e.g., Ethereum) and P2P protocols (e.g., BitTorrent); The hacking ethos and ecosystem; Cyberwarfare and cybersecurity; FinTech; Machine learning models, “artificial intelligence”, and related social concerns (e.g., facial recognition, bias / fairness, transparency, creativity, accountability); AI and externalities; Encryption, surveillance, and anonymity; Resilient design; Internet of Things; Other autonomous systems such as drones / weapon systems, and human comparisons; The ethics of coding.

* Conditional upon formal approval

Not following a track

Students also have the option to not follow a track. Here, applicants can give a choice of the different Universities that they would like to attend, always following the mobility rules of the programme: all students need to study at least at two different universities (one of which at least from a European country), which have to be different from the country of residence of the student at the time of enrolment. Please note that at the different Universities only a limited number of spots are available. Therefore, students who do wish to follow a track will be allocated to their preferred universities with priority. The students who have indicated that they do not want to follow a track, will be allocated afterwards. This increases the chance that these students cannot be allocated to their most preferred allocations but maybe to their second choices for one or more terms.

How an EMLE thesis is written

The EMLE thesis is written in the third term of the EMLE year, supervised by a professor affiliated to the third term university. Therefore, the choice of third term location determines to a certain point a student’s thesis topic and scope.


Finding a thesis topic

Students will have to submit two short proposals for their thesis already at the beginning of the second term (before the Midterm Meeting in February). For this, students can research topics based on their own interests with an eye on the third term location, as this choice determines which kind of thesis (topic) can be supervised at this location. Students are invited to look at example theses from previous EMLE years in our thesis archive, or find inspiration on the websites of the different partner universities. A collection of the best theses from recent years can also be downloaded from the Thesis Archive.

Shortly before the Midterm Meeting, which takes place every year in mid-February, students will meet online with their third term colleagues and local coordinators in the thesis meeting to discuss their thesis topics, find a working title for the thesis and have a supervisor assigned. After that (not later than April 1), students are invited to start writing their thesis, meeting with their supervisors at least 2-3 times until the date of the deadline, around mid-August. The supervision style may differ per university slightly: from supervisors reading full or parts of the drafts, to discussing the thesis in general terms without reading any written text before submission.


Writing

Before starting to write, students will be referred to the guide “How to write an EMLE thesis” and will attend an EMLE-specific seminar on writing and plagiarism in the second term. Students will learn about the correct citation styles used for EMLE theses and general tips for writing and finding and identifying the right literature.


Submission

The thesis has to be submitted on the deadline communicated by the EMLE Management Team by email. Every year this is a day in mid-August. The thesis has to be submitted in both word and pdf formats and will be subject to a general check for plagiarism, completeness and word count. Students will be notified immediately if their thesis was flagged for irregularity and be asked to address it. The theses are then forwarded to both the supervisor and an external examiner to assess the thesis.


Evaluation of the thesis

The two readers, supervisor and external examiner, will assign a grade on the scale of 0-30 for the thesis. In order to pass, students will have to get at least 30 points in total and from each reader at least 15 points. If the readers disagree on the evaluation of a thesis, a third reviewer is asked to evaluate the thesis.


Communication of the results

The results of the thesis will be communicated with the overall result of the program by the end of October.