Stephen G. Marks

Stephen G. Marks

Professor of Law

Class of 1960 Scholar

BA magna cum laude, University of California-Irvine
JD and PhD in Economics, University of California-Berkeley


Biography

Stephen Marks has been a distinguished member of the Boston University community for many years. He began his teaching career in 1981 at the University’s School of Management, where he taught courses in banking, finance, investments, corporations, economics and decision making. Since joining the School of Law faculty in 1988, Professor Marks has taught courses in Corporations, Mergers and Acquisitions, Legislation, Securities Regulation, and the Economic Analysis of Law. “I enjoy these subjects because they are so relevant for lawyers and for the organization of society,” he says. “For example, in every practice area, lawyers come face-to-face with corporations. If someone were to come from another planet and wanted to understand how human society was organized, it would not be long until they asked the question, what is a corporation?  And economics provides students with a powerful and rigorous tool for analyzing law and legal institutions.”

Co-author of the textbook Managerial Economics (eighth edition), published in 2014, Professor Marks’ work has appeared widely in journals of law and economics, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Legal Studies, The Encyclopedia of Law and Economics, the Boston University Law Review, the Journal Financial and Quantitative Analysis, among others.  He also co-wrote a book on raising children bilingually that was published by the University of Texas Press.

Professor Marks writes occasional online popular press articles on politics, economics, and afreeist philosophy.  He is a founding member of the Afreeist Society and has written a book on the subject.

Recently, Professor Marks spent a sabbatical year in Nicaragua with his family directing a micro-financing program there.

Professor Marks lives in Boston with his wife and youngest daughter. Two other daughters are graduates of Boston University.  Professor Marks is active in the peace and justice movement, and also dabbles in beer-making, bee-keeping and guitar (rock, blues, and Celtic music).

Publications

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  • Stephen G. Marks, The Market in Unmatured Tort Claims: Twenty-Five Years Later 34 Pace Law Review (2014)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics, 8th ed. (2014)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks & Jeffrey Marks, Becoming a Bilingual Family: Help Your Kids Learn Spanish (and Learn Spanish Yourself in the Process) (2013)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks & William Samuelson, Managerial Economics, 7th ed. (2012)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics, 6th ed. (2010)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics, 5th ed. (2006)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics, 4th ed. (2003)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks, The Separation of Ownership and Control, in Encyclopedia of Law and Economics (Boudewijn Bouckaert & Gerrit de Geest,2000)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics, 3rd ed. (1999)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks & Michael G. Rukstad, Teaching Macroeconomics by the Case Method 27 Journal of Economic Education (1996)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks, Utility and Community: Musings on the Tort/Crime Distinction 76 Boston University Law Review (1996)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics, 2nd ed. (1995)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks, Discontinuities, Causation, and Grady's Uncertainty Theorem 23 Journal of Legal Studies (1994)
    Scholarly Commons
  • William Samuelson & Stephen G. Marks, Managerial Economics (1992)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Stephen G. Marks, Of Posin and Pigs, of Coase and Cost, of Profits Gained and Opportunities Lost 38 The Wayne Law Review (1991)
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  • Alex Kane & Stephen G. Marks, The Delivery of Market Timing Services: Newsletters Versus Market Timing Funds 1 Journal of Financial Intermediation (1990)
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  • Alex Kane & Stephen G. Marks, Performance Evaluation of Market Timers: Theory and Evidence 23 Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (1988)
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  • Nalin Kulatilaka & Stephen G. Marks, The Strategic Value of Flexibility: Reducing the Ability to Compromise 78 The American Economic Review (1988)
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  • Alex Kane & Stephen G. Marks, The Rocking Horse Analyst 13 Journal of Portfolio Management (1987)
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  • Stephen G. Marks, Negligence, Causation and Information 31 McGill Law Journal (1985)
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  • Stephen G. Marks, The Value of Flexibility in a Certain World, Proceedings of the Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique - Conference on Production Systems (1985)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Robert Cooter, Stephen G. Marks & Robert Mnookin, Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: A Testable Model of Strategic Behavior 11 The Journal of Legal Studies (1982)
    Scholarly Commons

Activities & Engagements

No upcoming activities or engagements.

Courses

Corporate Finance: LAW JD 985

3 credits

This course covers the foundations of corporate finance. It starts with the concepts of time value of money, discounting, and present value. With that background it then considers the major financial decisions made by corporate managers. Topics include the valuation of financial assets and liabilities, criteria for making investment decisions, business valuation, relationships between risk and return, portfolio theory, market efficiency, capital structure choice, and cost of capital. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals, Corporations.

FALL 2023: LAW JD 985 A1 , Sep 5th to Dec 7th 2023
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 2:30 pm 4:00 pm 3 Theodore S. Sims LAW 209
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 985 B1 , Jan 16th to Apr 23rd 2024
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 10:45 am 12:10 pm 3 Stephen G. Marks LAW 410

Corporations: LAW JD 816

4 credits

Course about the legal structure and characteristics of business corporations. Topics include the promotion and formation of corporations; the distribution of power between management and shareholders; the limitations on management powers imposed by state law fiduciary duties and federal securities laws; shareholder derivative suits; capital structure and financing of corporations; and fundamental changes in corporate structure, such as mergers and sales of assets. The course serves as a prerequisite to advanced courses. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals.

FALL 2023: LAW JD 816 A1 , Sep 5th to Dec 7th 2023
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 8:30 am 10:30 am 4 David I. Walker LAW 102
FALL 2023: LAW JD 816 M1 , Sep 5th to Dec 7th 2023
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 10:40 am 12:40 pm 4 Stephen G. Marks LAW 103
FALL 2023: LAW JD 816 M2 , Sep 6th to Dec 6th 2023
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Pierluigi Matera LAW 414
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 816 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 24th 2024
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Scott Hirst LAW 414

Mergers and Acquisitions: LAW JD 988

3 credits

This course will cover the principal legal, tax and business issues of mergers and acquisitions. PREREQUISITE: Business Fundamentals and Corporations, or permission of instructor.

FALL 2023: LAW JD 988 A1 , Sep 5th to Dec 7th 2023
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 2:30 pm 3:55 pm 3 Stephen G. Marks LAW 413