Law and economics has become a central course in U.S. legal education and for students majoring in topics like economics, political science, and philosophy. With the Fifth Edition of their best-selling text, Cooter and Ulen provide a clear introduction to economic analysis and its application to legal rules and institutions that is accessible to any student who has taken principles of microeconomics. The book's structure is flexible, beginning with an introductory overview of economic tools followed by paired chapters in five core areas of law: property, contracts, torts, legal process, and crime. Students leave the course understanding how microeconomic theory can be used to critically evaluate law and public policy.