Richard Posner wrote in 1986 that the law and economics movement is “perhaps the most important development in legal thought in the last quarter century.”0 Through its application of economic theories and methodologies to legal issues, this movement has revolutionized our understanding of many areas of common law and statutory regulation. Curiously, however
1. The constitution of the Netherlands does not contain provisions laying general principles of the economic system, nor are there any such provisions in other legislative instruments. It is fair to say the principle of the market economy is so deeply enshrined in the Dutch Political Economy that it is thought of as totally