Dr Kate Doornik

I am responsible for organising economics teaching at St John's. I teach the first and second year core microeconomics and macroeconomics courses. I also give tutorials and classes for the finals options in Economics of Industry and Microeconomic Theory.

I use microeconomic theory, especially game theory, to study how contracts work - and particularly what happens when they don't work well. For example, I am interested in "relational contracts", which are contracts or agreements between parties that are self-enforced, due to the lack of legal enforcement. I have also looked at how optimal contract design is affected when the parties take into account the potentially high costs of contractual disputes. I am also working on some areas at the intersection of law and economics, particularly the effects of pre-trial mediation on settlement rates and total legal costs.