Marktaustausch – Grundlegung einer juristisch-ökonomischen Theorie des Austauschverkehrs

• Applicant: Dr. Johannes W. Flume
• Subject Area: Private Law
• Term: Funded in 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 424234755

For the past five years my main focus has been developing a theory of “market exchange” (Marktaustausch). In my forthcoming book, I analyze how derivative markets have been legally and technically constructed in the last 400 years, connecting comparative contract law, economic legal history, and economics. My findings contribute to two larger debates in the fields of capital markets and contract law. First, I contribute to the ongoing debate on the legal theory of finance. I provide a historical and theoretical framework to understand the legal foundations of exchanges by pointing to the similarities and differences of forwards and futures. Second, my findings shed new light on the mechanics of calculating damages in contract law. By reconnecting contract law to basic capital market economics, I provide a new approach to the measurement of expectation interest.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants