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How to Measure the Rule of Law

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  • Stefan Voigt

    (Philipps-University Marburg)

Abstract

I argue that the rule of law consists of many dimensions and that much information is lost when variables proxying for these dimensions are simply aggregated. I draw on the most important innovations from various legal traditions to propose a concept of the rule of law likely to find general support. To make the concept measurable, an ideal approach is contrasted with a pragmatic one. The pragmatic approach consists of eight different dimensions. I show that the bivariate correlations between them are usually very low, evidence that more fine-grained indicators of the rule of law, rather than a single hard-to-interpret one, are necessary for its measurement. The paper presents a list of desirable variables that could improve the measurement of various aspects of the rule of law.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Voigt, 2009. "How to Measure the Rule of Law," MAGKS Papers on Economics 200938, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    • Handle: RePEc:mar:magkse:200938
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    File URL: https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/fb02/research-groups/economics/macroeconomics/research/magks-joint-discussion-papers-in-economics/papers/2009-papers/38-2009_voigt.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Moamen Gouda, 2013. "Islamic constitutionalism and rule of law: a constitutional economics perspective," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 57-85, March.
    2. Christian Bjørnskov & Jacob Mchangama, 2019. "Do Social Rights Affect Social Outcomes?," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 63(2), pages 452-466, April.
    3. Björn Halleröd & Hans Ekbrand, 2023. "Is Democracy Associated with Reduction of Poverty, Child Mortality and Child Deprivation in Low-income Countries?," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(5), pages 2223-2251, October.
    4. Gründler, Klaus & Krieger, Tommy, 2022. "Should we care (more) about data aggregation?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    5. Gutmann, Jerg & Voigt, Stefan, 2018. "The rule of law: Measurement and deep roots," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 68-82.
    6. Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2017. "Forms of government decentralization and institutional quality: evidence from a large sample of nations," Chapters, in: Naoyuki Yoshino & Peter J. Morgan (ed.), Central and Local Government Relations in Asia, chapter 12, pages 395-420, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Hannes Öhler & Peter Nunnenkamp, 2014. "Needs-Based Targeting or Favoritism? The Regional Allocation of Multilateral Aid within Recipient Countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(3), pages 420-446, August.
    8. Jerg Gutmann & Stefan Voigt, 2023. "Militant constitutionalism: a promising concept to make constitutional backsliding less likely?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 377-404, June.
    9. Izabela Ostoj, 2019. "On the validity of the division into formal and informal institutions," Ekonomia i Prawo, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 18(1), pages 61-72, March.
    10. Luisito Bertinelli & Arnaud Bourgain, 2016. "Tax Mobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Impact of Tax and Business Law Reforms," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 36(3), pages 1805-1810.
    11. Jerg Gutmann & Stefan Voigt, 2015. "The rule of law and constitutionalism in Muslim countries," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 351-380, March.
    12. Bénédicte Coestier, 2015. "Jordan and the Middle-Income Growth Trap: Arab Springs and Institutional Changes," Working Papers hal-04141422, HAL.
    13. Bénédicte Coestier, 2015. "Jordan and the Middle-Income Growth Trap: Arab Springs and Institutional Changes," EconomiX Working Papers 2015-8, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    14. Daniel L. Bennett & Hugo J. Faria & James D. Gwartney & Daniel R. Morales, 2016. "Evaluating Alternative Measures of Institutional Protection of Private Property and Their Relative Ability to Predict Economic Development," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 31(Summer 20), pages 57-78.
    15. Karama, Dalal, 2014. "Ease of Doing Business: Emphasis on Corruption and Rule of Law," MPRA Paper 58662, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Christian Bachelder Holkeboer & James Raymond Vreeland, 2013. "Calling Democracies and Dictatorships: The Effect of Political Regime on International Long-Distance Rates," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(3), pages 417-437, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rule of Law; Institutions; Governance; Measurement; Formal vs. Informal Institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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