Protecting Private Property with Constitutional Judicial Review: A Social Welfare Approach

Abstract

This article proposes that constitutional judicial review should be subject to a social welfare analysis to determine when and if such review is efficient in enhancing social welfare. A model is proposed in which property rights protection is a component of social costs. Judicial review is then assumed to, on net, either add to or subtract from those costs, affecting social welfare generally. It will be shown that under realistic conditions, reflected in real instances, judicial review might not enhance economic efficiency or overall social welfare. We show that the efficiency of constitutional judicial review is likely to vary within the larger institutional context.