The Economics of public International law Alan o. Sykes Abstract: This paper is a preliminary draft for eventual inclusion in the Handbook Law and Economics, A. Mitchell Polinsky Steven Shavell editors. It reviews and synthesizes the work of economists and lanv and economics scholars in the field of public international law. The bulk of that work has been in the area of international trade, but many of the ideas in the trade literature have implications for other subfields. Recent years have seen a significant increase in research on other topics as well. The paper begins with a general framework for thinking about the positive and normative economics ofpublic international law, and then proceeds to a treatment of specific topics including customary law, strategic alliances and the laws of war, international trade, international investment, international antitrust, human rights law, conflicts of law, and the international commons (fisheries) 1. Introduction International law has been recognized as a distinct field of study within the legal ademy for well over a century, but economically-oriented scholars have paid it elatively little attention. Dunoff and Trachtman(1999). By far the bulk of the law and economics research in international law pertains to the law of international trade Systematic work on other topics is limited at best, although research in the field generally is accelerating and the subject can properly be considered a growth area The relative dearth of prior work, especially formal work, and its concentration on international trade issues, poses a number of challenges for a survey of this sort. An excessive emphasis on international trade will mask the richness and diversity of the field, and obscure rather than illuminate the potential research agenda. Moreover, large segments of the economic literature pertaining to international trade law already receive attention in the three volume Handbook of International Economics series, especially in Staiger(1995a), and in a number of other extant and forthcoming volumes focuse WTO issues including Bagwell and Staiger(2002)and Grossman and Helpman(2002) Accordingly, I have limited the treatment of trade issues in this chapter, emphasizing topics that illustrate broader themes for the economic analysis of international law. Much of the chapter will instead be devoted to a general framework for thinking about international law, along with brief discussions of a number of topics outside the realm of Frank Bernice Greenberg Professor of Law, University of Chicago. I have received thoughtful comments on an earlier draft from Kyle Bagwell, Eric Posner, Steven Shavell, and participants in the Handbook of Law and Economics conference at Stanford law schooThe Economics of Public International Law Alan O. Sykes* Abstract: This paper is a preliminary draft for eventual inclusion in the Handbook of Law and Economics, A. Mitchell Polinsky & Steven Shavell editors. It reviews and synthesizes the work of economists and law and economics scholars in the field of public international law. The bulk of that work has been in the area of international trade, but many of the ideas in the trade literature have implications for other subfields. Recent years have seen a significant increase in research on other topics as well. The paper begins with a general framework for thinking about the positive and normative economics of public international law, and then proceeds to a treatment of specific topics including customary law, strategic alliances and the laws of war, international trade, international investment, international antitrust, human rights law, conflicts of law, and the international commons (fisheries). 1. Introduction International law has been recognized as a distinct field of study within the legal academy for well over a century, but economically-oriented scholars have paid it relatively little attention. Dunoff and Trachtman (1999). By far the bulk of the law and economics research in international law pertains to the law of international trade. Systematic work on other topics is limited at best, although research in the field generally is accelerating and the subject can properly be considered a growth area. The relative dearth of prior work, especially formal work, and its concentration on international trade issues, poses a number of challenges for a survey of this sort. An excessive emphasis on international trade will mask the richness and diversity of the field, and obscure rather than illuminate the potential research agenda. Moreover, large segments of the economic literature pertaining to international trade law already receive attention in the three volume Handbook of International Economics series, especially in Staiger (1995a), and in a number of other extant and forthcoming volumes focused on WTO issues including Bagwell and Staiger (2002) and Grossman and Helpman (2002). Accordingly, I have limited the treatment of trade issues in this chapter, emphasizing topics that illustrate broader themes for the economic analysis of international law. Much of the chapter will instead be devoted to a general framework for thinking about international law, along with brief discussions of a number of topics outside the realm of * Frank & Bernice Greenberg Professor of Law, University of Chicago. I have received thoughtful comments on an earlier draft from Kyle Bagwell, Eric Posner, Steven Shavell, and participants in the Handbook of Law and Economics conference at Stanford Law School