Ideas Have Consequences: The Impact of Law and Economics on American Justice

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Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

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Paper Summary

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Did Economics Classes Make Judges More Conservative? A Study of the Manne Program's Impact

This study examines the impact of the Manne Economics Institute for Federal Judges, finding that attendance increased the use of economics language in judicial opinions and shifted decisions in a more conservative direction, particularly in economics-related cases and against regulatory agencies. The program may have influenced judicial thinking by introducing economic reasoning, but its conservative slant and funding from pro-business groups raise concerns about potential ideological persuasion or lobbying.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

The Manne program was funded by pro-business and conservative groups, raising questions about potential ideological influence. This potential conflict of interest should be considered when evaluating the findings.

Identified Weaknesses

Potential Endogeneity

While the first-come, first-served nature of the Manne program reduces selection bias, there could still be some self-selection based on judges' changing views over time leading them to attend. Controlling for pre-trends helps, but doesn't eliminate this possibility entirely.

Confounded Language Measure

Changes in judicial language might reflect broader trends in legal discourse or caseload composition, not just the direct effect of the Manne program. While circuit-year fixed effects mitigate this, it remains a challenge to isolate the direct causal link.

Limited Generalizability

The study focuses on federal judges who attended Manne, so the results may not generalize to other judges or legal systems. The specific curriculum and context of the program limit external validity.

Mechanism Identification

The study can't definitively pinpoint whether the Manne program's impact is from learning economics, ideological persuasion, or pro-business lobbying. More qualitative data or exploration of heterogenous treatment effects could shed more light on the mechanism.

Rating Explanation

This study uses a rigorous quasi-experimental design and large dataset to identify a compelling causal link between economics training and judicial decision-making. While the exact mechanism remains unclear and there are some limitations regarding generalizability, the findings are robust and shed light on the influence of ideas on policy.

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