View Specification DocumentLaw and Political Economy LAW4190
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Law
- Credits: 40
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Runs Throughout Semesters 1 and 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
Law and Political Economy thematises how the law shapes the contemporary organisation of the political economy and how the ever changing political economy in turn shapes legal change. Based on Karl Polanyi's classic scheme, the course will focus on three pillars of the political economy - labour, nature/land and money - which Polanyi famously and influentially identified as the three 'fictitious commodities'. The first part of the course will provide an in-depth overview of how the main authors of modern political economy understand the role of law in the economy (namely: Smith, Marx, Keynes, Hayek). Parts two, three and four will be devoted to an extended analysis of the legal regulation of labour, money and land/the environment.
Timetable
One 2-hour seminar per week, 10 seminars per semester.
Requirements of Entry
This course is only available to LLB students. There are no mandatory or recommended requirements.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
Summative assessment is comprised of a summative essay (40%) and a final exam (60%).
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
To introduce students to key concepts, practices and contemporary debates in law and political economy, and to engage them in close reading and discussion of important authors and texts; To assist students to appreciate the complexities of governing economic behaviour and enable them to apply those insights to current regulatory issues in the market; To enable students critically to discuss and evaluate for themselves the regulation of governance in particular markets and to assess and evaluate prospects for reform.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Discuss and explain the origins and forms of market economy, and the particular demands that these origins and forms create for governance
■ Identify governance issues in contemporary political economy and explain why these issues present particular challenges for governance actors
■ Critically evaluate patterns of economic behaviour by applying theory and regulatory perspectives, giving sound explanations in theory and law for positions adopted
■ Understand and analyse scholarly works applying the LPE framework across a variety of legal fields
■ Understand, contextualize, and analyse the history and development of the study of law as it relates to questions of political economy