Corporations and the rise of Chicago law and economics

This paper explores the dynamic relationship between corporations and Chicago law and economics from 1946 through the mid-1950s. It argues that corporations and Chicago law and economics had a mutually beneficial relationship, especially after the birth of Chicago neoliberalism in 1950. Corporations made possible the rise of Chicago law and economics through funding and advice. Chicago law and economics in return provided scholarly research that corporations sought to challenge the status quo antitrust positions of government. The relationship between Chicago law and economics and corporations in this period gave rise to critical institutions that would inspire the institutions of Chicago law in economics during its ascendency from the 1960s to the present, and the ideas about antitrust law that emerged in these formative years would later shape antitrust law in the United States