SDG Detail

Law, Technology, and Public Policy

Undergraduate course

Project description

Examines how law, economics, and technological change shape public policy, and how law can be used to influence technological change; how the legal system responds to environmental, safety, energy, social, and ethical problems; how law and markets interact to limit or encourage technological development; and how law can affect wealth distribution, employment, and social justice. Covers energy/climate change; genetic engineering; telecommunications and the role of misinformation; industrial automation; the effect of health, safety, and environmental regulation on technological innovation; the impacts of intellectual property law on innovation and equity; pharmaceuticals; nanotechnology; cost/benefit analysis as a decision tool; public participation in governmental decisions affecting science and technology; corporate influence on technology and welfare; and law and economics as competing paradigms to encourage sustainability. Permission of instructor required for freshmen and sophomores.