Abstract：Located at the intersection of economics and law, law and economics is primarily concerned with analyzing the formation, operation, and evolution of law, as well as the impact of law on economic performance through the use of economic theories. It has been more than forty years since China began its reform and opening up, and as a result has gradually developed a socialist market economy system, which essentially is a rule of law economy. China’s economic development has initially been characterized by the joint promotion of the level of the rule of law and economic development. As the reform practices of China’s economy and rule of law continue to provide important issues and experiences for the theoretical study of law and economics, the endeavours and explorations of China’s law and economics community also provide stronger theoretical support for the establishment and improvement of the socialist market economy.
China’s law and economics have essentially achieved full coverage of modern law and economics in terms of knowledge categories after nearly 40 years of development following the introduction of modern law and economics. In order to establish a law and economics system with Chinese characteristics, a knowledge system with Chinese characteristics must be established in terms of theoretical foundation, problem orientation, theoretical reference, and cultural inheritance. The construction of the disciplinary system of law and economics with Chinese characteristics is a four-in-one structure, the four elements of which include taking Marxist political economy as the theoretical foundation, taking the practice of China’s market economy and the rule of law system as the problem orientation, drawing on the scientific theories in modern law and economics and the useful practice of extraterritorial laws, and inheriting and carrying forward the excellent traditional Chinese legal culture. The four elements of the structure are complementary and mutually reinforcing, and reflect the characteristics of “one body, two wings” and “to hold the sky above, to stand on the ground”.
One body and two wings means that the “one body” of Marxist political economy as the theoretical foundation depends on the implementation and promotion of the “two wings”, i.e., taking the practice of China’s market economy and the rule of law system as the problem orientation to strengthen the ontological foundation of the discipline, and at the same time, drawing on the modern scientific theory of law and economics and the useful practice of extraterritorial laws to consolidate the epistemological foundation of the discipline. To hold the sky above and to stand on the ground means that, on the one hand, conceptually, law and economics with Chinese characteristics must be structured in the form of “one body and two wings” to develop cutting-edge scientific theories with an independent knowledge system, and on the other hand, empirically, the cutting-edge scientific theories of law and economics with Chinese characteristics need to be developed through the innovative development of the traditional Chinese excellent legal culture, for the theories to be firmly rooted in the practice of the Chinese modernization and continuous improvement to be achieved.
The process of constructing the law and economics with Chinese characteristics is, first of all, to give the concepts of modern law and economics theory the connotation of Chinese practice by observing the reality of China’s socialist market economy and the construction of the rule of law; then to delineate the category and establish the objects of research with localized concepts, to put forward theoretical views based on the propositions of the analysis of the relationship between the objects of research, and to verify the theoretical views by using the method of empirical research of modern economics; and finally to put the theoretical viewpoints into the framework of history and logic unity to form an independent knowledge system, and with the independent knowledge system as the kernel, the disciplinary system of law and economics with Chinese characteristics is constructed, which contributes Chinese wisdom to the modern theory of legal economics.
史晋川 叶斌. 中国特色法律经济学的学科体系及其建构[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 0, (): 1-.
Shi Jinchuan Ye Bin. Endeavouring to Build a Disciplinary System of Law and Economics with Chinese Characteristics. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 0, (): 1-.
