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Elegant Models, Empirical Pictures, and the Complexities of Contract

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Stewart Macaulay
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Abstract

Studies in nations with different social and economic systems indicate that the norms of contract law are seldom applied through the litigation process and that disputes are avoided or settled where there is a long-term relationship between the parties. Yet legal scholarship, as well as many proposals for reform, continue to be based on a picture of the contracts lawsuit, to a great extent. It is likely that this distortion is prompted by overgeneralization from a nonrepresentative sample of possible and actual disputes, and by the indirect influence of legal norms; it may also express the needs of legal scholars and reformers. It is questionable whether capitalist, socialist, or mixed economic systems would benefit if more disputes were resolved by the application of officially sanctioned contract norms.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , Winter 1977 , pp. 507 - 528
Copyright
Copyright © 1977 The Law and Society Association

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Footnotes

A number of people read earlier drafts of this article and made helpful comments. I wish to thank Richard Abel, Marc Galanter, Thomas Heller, Jacqueline Macaulay, and William Whitford. In addition, Zigurds Zile is largely responsible for what understanding I have of contract law in the socialist world. Obviously, the responsibility for error remains mine.

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