Robert D. Cooter, a pioneer in the field of law and economics, began teaching in the Department of Economics at UC Berkeley in 1975 and joined the [[Berkeley Law] faculty in 1980. He has been a visiting member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a recipient of various awards and fellowships, including Guggenheim, the Jack N. Pritzker Visiting Research Professorship at Northwestern Law School, and, the Max Planck Research Prize. He was an Olin visiting professor at the University of Virginia Law School and lectured at the University of Cologne in 1989. He is coeditor of the International Review of Law and Economics. He is one of the founders of the American Law and Economics Association and served from 1994 to 1995 as its president. In 1999 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Cooter has published a wide variety of articles on private law, constitutional law and economics, and law and economic development.
Recent publications include the sixth edition of the leading textbook Law and Economics (with Ulen, 2007), also translated into many language, and Solomon's Knot: How Law Can End the Poverty of Nations (with Hans Berndt, Schaefer, 2012). For a full list of publication and related materials, see his home page at the link below.