1. Law and Social Change
Class 1

2. Administrative
Give quiz
Deficiencies

3. Review Any questions about the reading
Differences among negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication
Issues of Justiciability and Standing

4. Today Reciprocity between law and social change
Law’s effect on attitudes and values
Law as a Source of Social Change

5. I. Reciprocity between Law and Social Change
What does it mean to say this relationship is reciprocal?
Can you provide examples of the impact in each direction?

6. II. Law’s Effect on Attitudes and Values
Can law affect attitudes and/or values?
How can this happen? What is the sociological or psychological mechanism?
What are the limits to this kind of effect?

7. III. Law as a Source of Social Change
As we have already seen, law can be a source of social change (and social change can give rise to new laws)
Examples of other sources of social change?
Since law is not the only source, we may have choices about how to induce social change when we want it

8. Next Time
Advantages and Disadvantages of law as an instrument of social change

9. Law and Social Change
Class 2

10. Administrative Discuss case presentations at end of class
Report on and collect journals
Return quizzes

11. Review Law and social change are reciprocal processes
They interact with each other
Each can give rise to the other
Law’s effects on attitudes and values
Law can affect attitudes and values
However, not always and not always the effect we are trying to achieve
Law as a source of social change

12. Today Advantages of Law as an Instrument of Social Change
Limitations of Law as an Instrument of Social Change
Terminology for next time
Exercise – Promoting two-parent families

13. I. Advantages of Law as a Source of Social Change
Legitimate Authority
The Binding Force of Law
Sanctions

14. II. Limitations of Law as a Source of Social Change
Originates externally to most people and seems coercive
Laws may be perceived as serving particular economic interest groups
Law is only one of a very large set of policy instruments and usually cannot be effective by itself
Lack of success of law in enforcing private morality
Watch out for unintended consequences

15. III. Terminology Risk Neutral Utility Maximizers
“marginal” difference in the impact on arrests

16. III. Terminology Covariates Linear Interpolation
City fixed effects and year dummies

17. IV. Promoting Two Parent Families
Suppose our goal is to reduce the rate of divorce and to increase the percentage of children raised by two-parent families
What options do we have to promote such social change?
How might the law be altered to promote such social change?

18. Case Presentations In one sense this is a team exercise
Who are the judges?
Nature of the assignment
Which topic will be done on which date? See home page

19. Journal Presentations

20. Next Time
We’ll discuss the Donahue and Levitt article

21. Law and Social Change
Class 3

22. Administrative Any questions about case presentations?
Return journals at end of class
Time for teams?

23. Review Advantages of using law as a source of social change
Limitations of law as a source of social change

24. Today
Donahue and Levitt
Exercise

25. II. Donahue and Levitt What issue are they examining?
What is their model and what variables do they measure?
What do they conclude?
What are the implications for social change?

26. III. Exercise Divide into teams
Issue – Discrimination in housing sales
How would you test for this phenomenon?
What kinds of evidence would your test produce?
How would you write the law to reduce such discrimination?

27. Next Time
Begin unit on attorneys