Soshnick Colloquium on Law and Economics
The Soshnick Colloquium on Law and Economics is an advanced seminar that brings together outside scholars, resident faculty, and Northwestern students for discussions on cutting-edge research papers in the law and economics field. During the course of the colloquium, a leading scholar will present a paper growing out of his or her research in the law and economics. Presenters will receive valuable feedback and suggestions for how to expand or improve their research and Northwestern Pritzker Law students and faculty will gain a broader understanding of the relation of law and economic theory.
Spring 2025
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman
All sessions take place on Mondays from 4:30pm - 6:20pm in Rubloff 339 except when otherwise noted.
February 3
Kenneth Ayotte, Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law, UC Berkeley Law
Bankruptcy’s Trilemma: A Unifying Framework
February 10
Vivek Bhattacharya, Associate Professor of Economics, Northwestern University
Merger Effects and Antitrust Enforcement: Evidence from US Consumer Packaged Goods
February 24
Martin C. Schmalz, Professor of Finance, Economics, and Real Estate, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Market-Based Incentives for Optimal Audit Quality
March 3
Priyanka Goonetilleke, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Illegal Drug Use and Government Policy: Evidence from a Darknet Marketplace
March 17
J.J. Prescott, Henry King Ransom Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law
Mobility-Restricting Covenants in Business Contracts: The Case of Franchising
April 1
Joanna Huey, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations, USC Department of Political Science
Are Two Heads Better than One? Strategic Implications of Splitting Conviction and Sentencing between the Jury and Judge
April 14
Andrea Cann Chandrasekhar, Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law
The "Good" Starbucks: Consumer Redlining in Large American Chain Stores
April 21
Deborah Beim, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Department of Political Science
The Influence of Supreme Court Justices' Dissenting Opinions
Fall 2024
Organized by Professor’s Max Schanzenbach and Stephanie Holmes Didwania
All sessions take place on Mondays from 4:30pm - 6:20pm in Rubloff 339.
September 16
Adi Leibovitch, Senior Lecturer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Decision Cascades
September 23
Michal Barzuza , Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
The Disappearing Negative Effect of Board Diversity on Firm Performance
October 7
Lee Fennell, Max Pam Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
From WTP to WTF: Valuation and Provocation
October 14
Brian D. Feinstein, Asst. Prof. Legal Studies & Business Ethics, University of Pennsylvania
The Market Value of Partisan Balance
October 28
Justin Holz , Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Racial Inequality in Property Tax Appeals
November 4
Adam Badawi, Professor of Law, Berkeley Law
Price Discipline for Non-Price Loan Terms
November 18
Eleanor Wilking, Assistant Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
Leave the Data Take the Money? Hard Choices in Platform Regulation
November 25
Aaron J. Chalfin, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania
We're Building Something Here: Reducing Gun Violence
Spring 2024
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:30pm - 6:20pm in Rubloff 339.
January 25
Fernán Restrepo, Assistant Professor of Law, UCLA Law
The Impact of Insider Trading Doctrine
February 1
Elisa Jácome, Assistant Professor, Northwestern University
Immigration Enforcement and Public Safety
February 15
Hajin Kim, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Does Paying to Pollute Make Pollution Seem Less Bad
February 22
Scott Baker, Vice Dean for Research and Faculty Development and William F. & Jessica L. Kirsch Professor of Law, Washington University (St. Louis)
Reasonableness
March 7
Nathan Atkinson, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Law
Robust Electoral Competition
March 14
Dhruv Aggarwal, Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Alex Lee, Professor of Law, Director, Center on Law, Business, and Economics, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Retail Investors and Corporate Governance
April 4
Talia Gillis, Associate Professor of Law and Milton Handler Fellow, Columbia Law
On the Fairness of Machine-Assisted Human Decisions
April 11
Avidit Acharya, Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
How Polarization Ends
Spring 2023
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman
Except when otherwise noted all sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:10pm - 6:00pm in Rubloff 339.
March 9
Ben Johnson, Associate Professor of Law, Penn State Law
The Least Responsive Branch
March 16
Dhruv Aggarwal, Assistant Professor of Law, Yale/Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Meme Corporate Governance
March 30
Anup Malani, Lee and Brena Freeman Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
April 6
John Shahar Dillbary, James M. Kidd, Sr. Professor of Law, University of Alabama School of Law
April 13
Maria Maciá, Associate Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
Spring 2022
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:10pm - 6:00pm in Rubloff 339.
January 27
Stephanie Didwania, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mandatory Minimums and Federal Sentences
February 3
James Lindgren, Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Judges as Party Animals: Retirement Timing by Federal Judges and Party Control of Judicial Appointments
February 17
Carlos Avenancio-Leon, Assistant Professor of Finance, UC San Diego
The Assessment Gap: Racial Inequalities in Property Taxation
February 24
Manisha Padi, Assistant Professor of Law, UC Berkeley School of Law
Fiduciary Duty and the Market for Financial Advice
March 10
Benjamin McMichael, Associate Professor of Law, University of Alabama Law
Stealing Organs?
March 17
Frances Xu Lee, Associate Professor of Law, Loyola Quinlan School of Business
Misleading Labeling and Product Quality
April 7
Cherie Metcalf, Associate Professor of Law, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
Communicating Risk Across the Political Divide
April 14
Bocar Ba, Assistant Professor of Economics, Duke University
Police Officer Assignment and Neighborhood Crime
Fall 2021
Organized by Professor Kate Litvak and Professor Bernard Black
All sessions take place on Thursday from 4:10 – 6:00 pm (Rubloff-339)
September 23
Andrew Baker, PhD Candidate, Stanford University
Do State Antitakeover Provisions Matter?
October 7
Joseph Kalmenovitz, Assistant Professor of Finance, Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business
Regulatory Risk Perception and Small Business Lending
October 14
Claudia Landeo, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Arts - Economics Dept, University of Alberta
Optimal Law Enforcement with Ordered Leniency
Ordered Leniency-An Experimental Study of Law Enforcement with Self-Reporting
October 21
Anastasia Zakoljukina, Associate Professor of Accounting and William Ladany Faculty Scholar, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
October 28
Emanuel Zur, Associate Professor, Associate Director, C-BERC, Academic Director, MS in Accounting Program, University of Maryland
Can Green Investments Increase Your Green? Evidence from Social Hedge Fund Activists
November 4
Weija Rao, Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University
(UN)STABLE BITS
November 18
Jennifer Arlen, Norma Z. Paige Professor of Law; Director, Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement; Director, Center for Law, Economics and Organization, NYU Law
Battle for our Souls: The Expressive Law Justification for Individual and Corporate Liability for Organizational Misconduct
November 30
Shruti Rajagopalan, Senior Research Fellow, Indian Political Economy and Emergent Ventures India, Meratus Center George Mason University
Spring 2021
Organized by Professor Sarath Sanga
All sessions will take place Thursdays from (4–5:30pm) on Zoom
January 28
Yaron Nili, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Giant Shadow of Corporate Gadflies
February 4
Nathan Atkinson, Postdoctoral Fellow, ETH Zurich Center for Law and Economics
Corporate Liability, Collateral Consequences, and Capital Structure
February 18
Ian Ayres, Deputy Dean and Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Reactive Incentives: Harnessing the Impact of Sunk Opportunity Costs
February 25
Kieu-Trang Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Northwestern Kellogg
Power, Scrutiny, and Congressmen’s Favoritism for Friends’ Firms
March 11
Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Kill Zone
March 18
Anita Rao, Associate Professor of Marketing, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Deceptive Claims using Fake News Marketing: The Impact on Consumers
April 1
Amanda Starc, Associate Professor of Strategy, Northwestern Kellogg
Mortality Effects and Choice Across Private Health Insurance Plans
April 8
Kevin Tobia, Assistant Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
Spring 2020
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
January 30
Colleen Honigsberg, Associate Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Deleting Misconduct: The Expungement of BrokerCheck Records
February 6
William H. J. Hubbard, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Toward a New Theory of Civil Procedure
February 20
Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics and Finance, Northwestern University
Credit Building or Credit Crumbling?
February 27
Rebecca Stone, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
Norm-Based Enforcement of Promises
March 12
Sepehr Shahshahani, Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
Hard Cases Make Bad Law?
March 19
Murat Mungan, Professor of Law, George Mason, Antonin Scalia Law School
Laws and Norms with (Un)Observable Actions
April 9
Ofer Eldar, Associate Professor of Law and Finance, Duke Law School
The Rise of Dual-Class Stock IPOs and Venture Capital Financing
April 16
Molly Schnell, Assistant Professor of Economics, Northwestern University
The Impacts of Physician Payments on Patient Access Use and Health
Fall 2019
Organized by Professor Sarath Sanga
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
September 12
Richard R.W. Brooks, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
Loyalty and What Law Demands: Self Interest, Sole Interest or Best Interest
September 26
Abhay Aneja, Assistant Professor of Law, University of California Berkeley Law
The Effect of Political Power on Labor Market Inequality: Evidence from the 1965 Voting Rights Act
October 10
Abby K. Wood, Associate Professor of Law, Political Science and Public Policy, USC Gould School of Law
Campaign Finance Transparency Affects Legislators’ Election Outcomes and Behavior
October 17
Merritt B. Fox, Michael E. Patterson Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
The Core Corporate Governance Puzzle: Contextualizing the Link to Performance
October 31
Kristen Underhill, Associate Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Rolling Out the Unwelcome Mat: Associations between Welfare Sanctions and Medicaid Enrollment
November 7
Roberta Romano, Sterling Professor of Law, Yale Law School
The Iron Law of Financial Regulation
November 21
Gabriel Rauterberg, Assistant Professor of Law, The University of Michigan Law School
Allocating Control by Contract: An Empirical Analysis of Shareholder Agreements
December 3
Max Schanzenbach, Seigle Family Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Does Discipline Decrease Police Misconduct? Evidence from Chicago Civilian Allegations
Spring 2019
Organized by Professor Sarath Sanga
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
January 31
Enrichetta Ravina, Visiting Associate Professor of Finance, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management
Investor Ideology
February 7
Kerwin Charles, Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor, The University of Chicago, Harris Public Policy
The Effects of Sexism on American Women: The Role of Norms vs. Discrimination
(Professor Charles will also discuss his work on race-based and religion-based discrimination in the labor market.)
February 21
Raymond Fisman, Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics, Boston University
Hall of Mirrors: Corporate Philanthropy and Strategic Advocacy
February 28
Alex Raskolnikov, Wilbur H. Friedman Professor of Tax Law, Columbia Law School
Selective Incentives
March 14
Andrew Hayashi, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
Rules and Standards: The Games Legislators Play
March 21
Megan Stevenson, Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School
Algorithmic Risk Assessment in the Hands of Humans
April 11
Ryan Bubb, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
The Party Structure of Mutual Funds
April 18
Oeindrila Dube, Philip K. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, The University of Chicago, Harris Public Policy
Healthcare Delivery During Crises: Experimental Evidence from Sierra Leone’s Ebola Outbreak
Fall 2018
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman and Professor Max M. Schanzenbach.
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
(Note there is a special session on Tuesday, November 27.)
September 13
John D. Morley, Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Too Big to be Activist
September 20
Kenneth Ayotte, Professor of Law, University of California Berkeley Law
Disagreement and Capital Structure Complexity
October 4
Edward G. Fox, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Law School
Alpha Duties: The Search for Excess Returns and Appropriate Fiduciary Duties
October 11
Marit Rehavi, Associate Professor, Vancouver School of Economics
Tipping the Scales? Testing for Political Influence on Public Corruption Prosecutions
October 25
Natasha Sarin, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
The Salience Theory of Consumer Financial Regulation
November 1
Mark Schankerman, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics
Screening for Patent Quality
November 15
Allen Ferrell, Greenfield Professor of Securities Law, Harvard Law School
How Accurate are Matrix Bond Prices?
November 27 (Tuesday)
Michael D. Frakes, Professor of Law and Economics, Duke Law School
Is Great Information Good Enough? Evidence From Physicians as Patients
Spring 2018
Organized by Professor Sarath Sanga
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
January 25
Martin Schmalz, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Michigan
Main Paper: Common Ownership, Competition, and Top Management Incentives
Short policy primer: Common Ownership and Competition: Facts, Misconceptions, and What to Do About It
February 1
Luigi Zingales, Robert C. McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, and Charles M. Harper Faculty Fellow, University of Chicago
Is Pollution Value-Maximizing? The DuPont Case
February 15
Anu Bradford, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization, Columbia Law School
Trade Openness and Antitrust Law
February 22
Eric L. Talley, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor, Columbia University
Appraisal Arbitrage and Shareholder Value
March 8
Anjali Adukia, Assistant Professor, University of Chicago
Educational Investment Responses to Economic Opportunity: Evidence from Indian Road Construction
March 15
Douglas G. Baird, Harry A. Bigelow Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Statutory Interpretation, Three Ways: The “Best Interests of Creditors” Test in Chapter 9
April 5
Dhammika Dharmapala, Julius Kreeger Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
The Effect of Collective Bargaining Rights on Law Enforcement: Evidence from Florida
April 12
Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, Professor of Law and Psychology; Deputy Dean, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Law and Psychology Grows Up, Goes Online, and Replicates
Fall 2017
Organized by Professor Ezra Friedman
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
(Note there is a special session on Tuesday, November 28.)
September 14
Louis Kaplow, Finn M. W. Caspersen and Household International Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard Law School
On the Design of Legal Rules: Balancing Versus Structured Decision Procedures
September 21
Jennifer Reinganum, E. Bronson Ingram Professor of Economics and Law, Vanderbilt Law School
Evidence Suppression by Prosecutors: Violations of the Brady Rule
October 5
Anup Malani, Lee and Brena Freeman Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Can Blockchain Solve the Holdup Problem in Contracts?
October 12
Maya Sen, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University Kennedy School
Influence and Ideology in the American Judiciary: Evidence from Supreme Court Law Clerks
October 26
Keith Chen, Associate Professor of Economics, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Politics Gets Personal: Effects of Political Partisanship and Advertising on Family Ties
November 2
Sam Norris, Department of Economics, Northwestern University
Judicial Errors: Evidence from Refugee Appeals
November 16
Andrew Verstein, Associate Professor of Law at Wake Forest Law School, Visiting University of Chicago Law School
The Enduring Distinction between Business Entities and Security Interests: Dynamic versus Fixed Priority
November 28 (Tuesday)
Cancelled
Spring 2017
Organized by Professor Sarath Sanga
All sessions take place on Thursdays from 4:00pm - 5:50pm in Rubloff 339.
(The January 26 session begins at 4:30pm.)
January 26
Joel Mokyr, Robert H. Strotz Professor, Northwestern University
A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy
February 2
Elisabeth Kempf, Assistant Professor of Finance, Chicago Booth
The Job Rating Game: The Effects of Revolving Doors on Analyst Incentives
February 16
Elliott Ash, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton Woodrow Wilson School
The Impact of Legal Schools of Thought
February 23
Geoffrey Miller, Stuyvesant P. Comfort Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
An Economic Analysis of Effective Compliance Programs
March 9
Oren Bar-Gill, William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law and Economics, Harvard Law School
Disclosure Rules in Contract Law
March 16
Zachary Liscow, Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Do Court Mandates Change the Distribution of Taxes and Spending? Evidence from School Finance Litigation
April 6
Jacob Goldin, Assistant Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Influence and Ideology in the American Judiciary: Evidence from Supreme Court Law Clerks
April 13
Allison Morantz, James and Nancy Kelso Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Rejecting the Grand Bargain: What Happens when Large Companies Opt out of Workers' Compensation?