Shaping Tastes and Values Through the Law: Law and Economics Meets Cultural Economics

This article elaborates on the point made by Guido Calabresi in his recent book “The Future of Law and Economics: Essays in Reform and Recollection”, where he holds that Law and Economics should inform law-makers and policy-makers regarding what tastes and values are more desirable than others. Calabresi invites economists to depart from the approach traditionally embraced in economic analysis holding that “De gustibus non est disputandum”. He proposes instead to dialogue with law-makers in order to openly engage in the promotion of welfare-enhancing tastes and values. My main argument is that recent empirical findings in Economics support Calabresi’s invitation to normatively engage in shaping cultural traits – at least for a specific set of tastes and values.