Expectation damages are damages intended to cover what the injured party expected to receive from the a contract and usually have straightforward calculations based on the contract itself or market value.
‘Reference Guide on Estimation of Economic Losses in Damages Awards’, by Robert Hall and Victoria Lazear is a frequently cited source for more discussion on business damages. The Reference Guide is part of the courts larger manual: : Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence.
Raj Chetty, a professor at Harvard University, argues that economics is very much a solid science. He argues that while economics has not been able to answer all big picture questions like – what causes recessions and the determinants of growth with perfect certainty. He writes in the NY Times:
Nonetheless, economists have recently begun to overcome these challenges by developing tools that approximate scientific experiments to obtain compelling answers to specific policy questions. …today, the most prominent economists are often empiricists … who focus on testing old theories and formulating new ones that fit the evidence.
This kind of empirical work in economics might be compared to the “micro” advances in medicine (like research on therapies for heart disease) that have contributed enormously to increasing longevity and quality of life, even as the “macro” questions of the determinants of health remain contested.
The Economics department started a new one-year terminal Master’s degree this past summer. The inaugural class of 40 students began classes in mid-July and, after completing a 10-course, 30-credit curriculum, will graduate in May 2014. The rigorous program is the first of its kind in the state of Texas, and only a handful of similar programs (primarily on the East coast) currently exist.
The MA program at UT was designed for prospective students with any of the following goals: