Erasmus School of Law
Erasmus School of Law

About Katharina Pistor

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Katharina Pistor is a German-trained lawyer who has been affiliated to Columbia University since 2001. Prior, she worked among others at the Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard Law School, the highly prestigious German Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, and the influential Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

  • In 2019 Katharina Pistor published "The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality". In this book, she argues that the law selectively "codes" certain assets, endowing them with the capacity to protect and produce private wealth. With the right legal coding, any object, claim, or idea can be turned into capital and lawyers are the keepers of the code.

    The book paints a troubling portrait of the pervasive global nature of the code, the people who shape it, and the governments that enforce it.

Strong link with the interdisciplinary research profile of Erasmus School of Law

Professor Pistor’s interdisciplinary approach to the studying of law and of economics resonates well with the research profile of Erasmus School of Law and its interdisciplinary and inter university research groups among others focusing on “The Balancing of Public and Private Interests”, “Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity”, “Legal Empirical Studies”, and, more broadly Law and Economics. Together with Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus School of Law has initiated the European Research Centre for Economic and Financial Governance, an international research network.

Dies Natalis acceptance speech Katharina Pistor

Dies Natalis 2020 - Honorary doctorate prof. dr. Katharina Pistor

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