Contract Theory and Design

This course takes an engineering approach to contracting. It aims to bridge the gap between economic contract theory, contract law scholarship and the drafting of real-world contracts. We will develop heuristic tools on how to design contracts, and to this end you will learn key concepts from economic and behavioral contract theory. We will also analyze and mark up real-world contracts to understand where they succeed and where they fail. This is not a contract drafting class. The focus is on the incentive structures around contracts rather than the legal language of the contract itself.