ABSTRACT
This Essay develops an economic approach to statutory and contractual interpretation. The economic approach to interpretation understands ‘things’ as inherently economic objects that drafters intend to specify to include close-to-perfect substitutes or similar fairly priced items by the market. Several difficult cases involving exclusivity clauses, the exchange of land, and options contracts are resolved using economic and financial theory. The economic approach offers an alternative to the dictionary that offers more pleasing answers than the extant approach taken by courts which can easily arrive at incorrect conclusions. The economic approach has applications to contractual interpretation, but also areas of public law, such as competition law, taxation law, and international trade law.
Clarke, Dylan R, An Economic Approach to Interpretation (July 22, 2025), Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Forthcoming.
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