{{Other uses}} {{Economics sidebar}}'''Economic law''' is a set of legal rules for regulating economic activity.<ref name=encyc>Ferdinand Joseph Maria Feldbrugge, Gerard Pieter van den Berg, William B. Simons (1985) "Encyclopedia of Soviet Law", ''[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]]'', {{ISBN|90-247-3075-9}}</ref><ref name=ij>O. S. (Olimpiad Solomonovich) Ioffe, Mark W. Janis (1987) "Soviet Law and Economy", Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, {{ISBN|90-247-3265-4}}</ref> [[Economics]] can be defined as "a social science concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services." The regulation of such phenomena, [[law]], can be defined as "customs, practices, and rules of conduct of a community that are recognized as binding by the community", where "enforcement of the body of rules is through a controlling authority."<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |entry=law |encyclopedia=Britannica |entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/law |access-date=2022-03-22 |language=en}}</ref> Accordingly, different states have their own legal infrastructure and produce different provisions of goods and services.
== Economic systems == The objective of economic law is to address the logistics of production and distribution. Within each political and economic system, there are different and particular legal infrastructures to regulate production and distribution.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gregory |first=Paul R. |title=The global economy and its economic systems |date=2014 |publisher=South-Western Cengage Learning |others=Robert C. Stuart |isbn=978-1-285-05535-0 |location=Mason, OH |pages=23 |oclc=788289971}}</ref> These economic systems entail different philosophical and logical underpinnings when it comes to implementing the laws that govern the production of goods and services, distribution of wealth, the responsibilities of different stakeholders/key actors in the economy as well as the ownership of wealth and resources.<ref name="Cohen 2009 1–20">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=S. I. |chapter=Analytical Framework for Understanding Economic Systems |date=2009 |doi=10.1057/9780230234116_1 |title=Economic Systems Analysis and Policies |pages=1–20 |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-349-30878-1}}</ref> Examples of political and economic systems include the market system ([[capitalism]]), the command system ([[socialism]]) and [[Traditional economy|traditional]] systems.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |entry=economic system |encyclopedia=Britannica |entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/economic-system |access-date=2022-05-20 |language=en}}</ref>
=== Capitalism – the market economic system === There are varying forms and varying definitions/types of capitalism.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Frank |first=Stilwell |title=Political Economy 3e EBook |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand |isbn=978-0-19-551875-7 |oclc=1241445744}}</ref> Depending on the type of capitalism, the economic laws that govern that particular system have different levels of restrictions for the state, market and property owners.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Varieties of capitalism: the institutional foundations of comparative advantage |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor=Peter A. Hall |editor2=David W. Soskice |isbn=0-19-924775-7 |location=Oxford [England] |oclc=46969900}}</ref> Characteristics of capitalism include the private ownership of property and the intention of production being the sales of the produced goods and services into the market. With regards to the role of the government, the primary responsibility of the state is to ensure there is an effective infrastructure for businesses to conduct in a free market society, where private ownership is key.<ref name=":0" /> What constitutes an effective infrastructure (which economic law is a segment of) differs between states. The different forms of capitalism stem from the different institutional arrangements particular capitalist countries have and the extent to which property is private and the level of involvement from the government in regulating commercial activity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Andrea |last2=Vogler |first2=Jan |date=2016-07-31 |title=The evolution of economic systems: varieties of capitalism in the global economy |journal=Journal of Economic Geography |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=263–264 |doi=10.1093/jeg/lbw023 |issn=1468-2702}}</ref>
Based on the involvement of the government and the state's perception of the role of its government, capitalist systems can be further differentiated into [[Varieties of Capitalism]]. The two forms of capitalist economic systems include liberal market economies (LMEs) and coordinated market economies (CMEs).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Green |first1=K. |last2=Kim |first2=K. |date=February 1976 |title=Interaction of adrenergic antagonists with prostaglandin E2 and tetrahydrocannabinol in the eye |journal=Investigative Ophthalmology |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=102–111 |issn=0020-9988 |pmid=1356}}</ref> LMEs entail a system of economic laws that leans towards the notion of a free market. This involves laws regulating economic activity favouring minimal government intervention of a business's competitive landscape. Such characteristics mean that laws governing a LME consist of deregulated policies that prioritise privatisation, antitrust laws that prevent monopolies, collusions and encourage competition as well as tax incentives that encourage businesses to re-invest and generate more profits.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nölke |first1=Andreas |last2=Vliegenthart |first2=Arjan |date=2009-08-26 |title=Enlarging the Varieties of Capitalism: The Emergence of Dependent Market Economies in East Central Europe |journal=World Politics |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=670–702 |doi=10.1017/s0043887109990098 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0012-454F-8 |s2cid=34522558 |issn=0043-8871|hdl-access=free }}</ref> CMEs place less emphasis on the market and competition as laws that tend to govern their economic outcomes prioritise the collaboration between various stakeholders. This is evident in the existence of "deliberative institutions<nowiki>''</nowiki> that serve to promote information sharing amongst firms.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Akkermans |first1=Dirk |last2=Castaldi |first2=Carolina |last3=Los |first3=Bart |date=February 2009 |title=Do 'liberal market economies' really innovate more radically than 'coordinated market economies'? |journal=Research Policy |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=181–191 |doi=10.1016/j.respol.2008.10.002 |issn=0048-7333}}</ref>
=== Socialism – the command system === [[Socialism]] is a philosophy that asserts political and economic systems should entail public ownership of the means of production.<ref>{{Cite web |title=socialism {{!}} Definition, History, Types, Examples, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/socialism |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The underpinnings of socialism opposes private ownership and champions collective/social ownership.<ref name=":3">{{Citation |last=Arnold |first=N. Scott |title=Why Market Socialism? |date=1995-05-18 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195088274.003.0002 |work=The Philosophy and Economics of Market Socialism |pages=34–64 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195088274.003.0002 |isbn=978-0-19-508827-4 |access-date=2022-05-29|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=B. |first=Stilwell, Frank J. |title=Political economy : the contest of economic ideas |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-557501-9 |oclc=779097365}}</ref> This often entails state ownership<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Xiaohu |title=Fundamentals of Political Economy. |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-1-351-71493-8 |oclc=1007847139}}</ref> (a form of public ownership), with the rationale being that states act in the interest of the public and distribute resources in an equitable nature.<ref name=":3" /> Laws that govern a socialist economies are collectivist in nature and seek to produce egalitarian outcomes.<ref name=":0" /> Capitalist societies allocate profits made from production to an entity's shareholders whilst in [[socialist economics]], the purpose of production is to meet consumer needs, where profits are considered social dividends.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arneson |first=Richard J. |date=April 1992 |title=Is Socialism Dead? A Comment on Market Socialism and Basic Income Capitalism |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/293421 |journal=Ethics |volume=102 |issue=3 |pages=485–511 |doi=10.1086/293421 |s2cid=154502214 |issn=0014-1704|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Business == Competition laws, also known as antitrust laws, regulate the amount of dominance a company is able to have over an industry and does so via regulating business practices. Practices that are regulated include mergers and acquisitions and deceptive business practices that lead to monopolising an industry and creating unfair entry barriers, where they are the sole provider with that industry.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Fikentscher |first1=Wolfgang |title=Rules on Competition after the Crisis |date=2013 |work=FairEconomy: Crises, Culture, Competition and the Role of Law |pages=49–93 |editor-last=Fikentscher |editor-first=Wolfgang |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-36107-4_2 |isbn=978-3-642-36107-4 |last2=Hacker |first2=Philipp |last3=Podszun |first3=Rupprecht |series=MPI Studies on Intellectual Property and Competition Law |volume=19 |editor2-last=Hacker |editor2-first=Philipp |editor3-last=Podszun |editor3-first=Rupprecht}}</ref><ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Fox |first=Eleanor M. |last2=Healey |first2=Deborah |date=2013 |title=When the State Harms Competition ― The Role for Competition Law |ssrn=2248059}}</ref>
There are two forms of market structures with corresponding forms of competition that governments are able to promote via policies and the commercial activities it restricts.<ref name="Cohen 2009 1–20"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Hoskins |first1=Colin |doi=10.4135/9781452233109 |title=Media Economics: Applying Economics to New and Traditional Media |last2=McFadyen |first2=Stuart |last3=Finn |first3=Adam |date=2004 |publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc. |isbn=978-0-7619-3096-9 |location=Thousand Oaks, CA}}</ref> One form of competition is the existence of a mass amount of small-sized businesses and the other being a limited amount of market dominating businesses.<ref name=":2" /> [[Monopolistic competition]] entails the existence of many firms competing within the same industry. Industries/Countries that promote monopolistic competition adopt stricter antitrust policies. These policies enable the production of goods and services that are differentiated and provide consumers with various options. Monopolistic market structures do not have significant bargaining power in pricing its products and influencing the supply or demand of its products.<ref name=":2" /> Oligopolies entail a small number of large firms within an industry. Antitrust laws governing oligopolies are less restricting of business activities, where a small number of large firms have significant market power and entry into oligopolistic markets are difficult. These firms collude and create rather than respond to market demand through fixing prices and dedicating funds to lobbying for favourable policies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ruffin |first=Roy J. |date=September 2003 |title=International Trade under Oligopoly Conditions |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9396.00404 |journal=Review of International Economics |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=577–587 |doi=10.1111/1467-9396.00404 |s2cid=155074108 |issn=0965-7576|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fonseca |first1=Miguel Alexandre |last2=Normann |first2=Hans-Theo |date=2011 |title=Explicit vs. Tacit Collusion - The Impact of Communication in Oligopoly Experiments |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1937803 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1937803 |hdl=10419/62592 |s2cid=219356154 |issn=1556-5068|hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== International economic law == [[International economic law]] is an aspect of international law that concerns the economic relations between states and how transactions that occur cross-border are governed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=International economic law |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/international_economic_law |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref> The primary actors in the regulation of International economic laws are “States, international organisations, and private actors”.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Morris |first=P. Sean |date=2013-11-28 |title=Herdegen M., Principles of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013, xl + 493 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-957987-7. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0165070x12001362 |journal=Netherlands International Law Review |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=496–499 |doi=10.1017/s0165070x12001362 |s2cid=144402710 |issn=0165-070X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Areas of International economic law include agreements on commercial and transactional activities cross-border laws governing international trade, international investment and monetary law and intellectual property rights.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lindsay |first=Jessica |date=2021-06-30 |title=International Economic Law |url=https://law.unimelb.edu.au/study/masters/specialist-legal-areas/international-economic-law |access-date= |website=Melbourne Law School |language=en}}</ref> These areas are governed by international economic institutions, which include the [[World Trade Organization|World Trade Organisation]] (WTO), the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), the [[United Nations]], the [[OECD|Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development]] and the [[World Bank]].<ref name=":4" /> There are also international organisations that govern international economic laws on a smaller scale (regionally). Some of these include the [[ASEAN|Association of Southeast Asian Nations]] (ASEAN), the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] and the [[European Union]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Church |first=Jim |title=Library Guides: International Economic Organizations: Regional Organizations |url=https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=164469&p=1080165 |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=guides.lib.berkeley.edu |language=en}}</ref>
=== International economic organisations === International economic organisations are institutions that provides multiple states that have their own particular system of economic laws and governance a common architecture to conduct transnational economic activity.<ref name=":5">{{Citation |author=DeGennaro, Ramon Paul |title=International economic institutions : globalism vs. nationalism |date=2017 |publisher=Teaching Company |isbn=978-1-5019-7210-2 |oclc=986955603 }}</ref>
==== World Trade Organization ==== [[File:World Trade Organization Members.svg|thumb|Members of the World Trade Organization (in green)]] The [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) is an intergovernmental organisation that provides the infrastructure for international trade. The WTO provides the rules on the trading of goods, services and intellectual property between states.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> These rule are determined through countries that trade negotiating the terms and conditions for doing so. The purpose of the WTO and the economic laws it imposes are to promote liberalised trade, reduce the barriers of cross-border trading and enable a cooperative trading system that is mutually beneficial for all states involved.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Trade Organization (WTO) {{!}} History & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Trade-Organization |access-date= |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The WTO enabled the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property - also known as "[[TRIPS Agreement]]". Members of the WTO negotiated the terms of regulating intellectual property in the global economic systems.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kelsey |first=Jane |editor-first1=Jane |editor-last1=Kelsey |date=2018-01-18 |title=International Economic Regulation |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315183930 |doi=10.4324/9781315183930|isbn=9781315183930 }}</ref>
==== International Monetary Fund ==== The [[International Monetary Fund]] is governed by its 190 countries who possess a membership in the IMF. The IMF provides rules for international monetary cooperation and enabling the [[international monetary system]] is secure and balanced.<ref>{{Citation |last=Corporation. |first=International Monetary Fund. Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational |title=The IMF at work |date=1986 |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp |isbn=0-8347-7094-6 |oclc=22780804 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wouters |first1=Jan |last2=Odermatt |first2=Jed |date=2013 |title=Comparing the 'Four Pillars' of Global Economic Governance: A Critical Analysis of the Institutional Design of the FSB, IMF, World Bank and WTO |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2371214 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2371214 |s2cid=233750263 |issn=1556-5068|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Its primary activities include promoting stable exchange rates, international trade, "financing the short-term balance-of-payments deficits of member countries"<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Monetary Fund (IMF) {{!}} Definition, History, Purpose, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/International-Monetary-Fund |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> and consulting to countries borrowing funds.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stone |first=Randall W. |title=Controlling institutions : international organizations and the global economy |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-07862-7 |location=Cambridge, UK |oclc=728171117}}</ref> Countries that borrow money from the IMF receive financial support under the condition that they implement a set of policy reforms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kentikelenis |first1=Alexander E. |last2=Stubbs |first2=Thomas H. |last3=King |first3=Lawrence P. |date=2016-05-24 |title=IMF conditionality and development policy space, 1985–2014 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2016.1174953 |journal=Review of International Political Economy |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=543–582 |doi=10.1080/09692290.2016.1174953 |s2cid=156856349 |issn=0969-2290|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The IMF regulates lending policies according to the patterns of globalisation, where regulations tend to reflect the interests of the state(s) with the largest shareholdings in the IMF.<ref>{{Citation |last=Copelovitch |first=Mark S. |chapter=The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy |year=2010 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511712029.002 |pages=1–28 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511712029.002 |isbn=9780521194334 |access-date=2022-06-04}}</ref>
==See also== * ''[[A Failure of Capitalism]]'' * [[Constitutional economics]] * [[Law and economics]] * [[Law office management]] * [[Political economy]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Authority control}}{{economics}}{{law}}
[[Category:Economic law| ]]