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Courts: the Lex Mundi Project

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Author Info
Simeon Djankov
Rafael La Porta
Florencio Lopez-de-Silane
Andrei Shleifer

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Abstract

In cooperation with Lex Mundi member law firms in 109 countries, we measure and describe the exact procedures used by litigants and courts to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent and to collect a bounced check. We use these data to construct an index of procedural formalism of dispute resolution for each country. We find that such formalism is systematically greater in civil than in common law countries. Moreover, procedural formalism is associated with higher expected duration of judicial proceedings, more corruption, less consistency, less honesty, less fairness in judicial decisions, and inferior access to justice. These results suggest that legal transplantation may have led to an inefficiently high level of procedural formalism, particularly in developing countries.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 8890.

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Date of creation: Apr 2002
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8890

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
K10 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - General (Constitutional Law)
K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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  1. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 1999. "The Quality of Government," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 222-79, April.
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  2. Simon Johnson & John McMillan, 2002. "Courts and Relational Contracts," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 221-277, April.
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  3. Philippe Aghion & Alberto Alesina & Francesco Trebbi, 2002. "Endogenous Political Institutions," NBER Working Papers 9006, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Messick, Richard E, 1999. "Judicial Reform and Economic Development: A Survey of the Issues," World Bank Research Observer, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 117-36, February. [Downloadable!]
  5. Daniel Berkowitz & Karina Pistor & Jean-Francois Richard, 2001. "Economic Development, Legality, and the Transplant Effect," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 410, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Rafael LaPorta & Florencio Lopez de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "Legal Determinants of External Finance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1788, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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  7. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-De-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "The Regulation Of Entry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Edward L. Glaeser & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "Legal Origins," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(4), pages 1193-1229, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

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  2. Gwinner, William B. & Sanders, Anthony, 2008. "The sub prime crisis : implications for emerging markets," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4726, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  3. Miguel St. Aubyn, 2008. "Law and Order Efficiency Measurement – A Literature Review," Working Papers 2008/19, Department of Economics at the School of Economics and Management (ISEG), Technical University of Lisbon.. [Downloadable!]
  4. Mihir Desai & Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner, 2003. "Institutions, Capital Constraints and Entrepreneurial Firm Dynamics: Evidence from Europe," NBER Working Papers 10165, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Lerner, Josh & Schoar, Antoinette, 2004. "Transaction Structures in the Developing World: Evidence from Private Equity," Working papers 4468-04, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Norman Loayza & Raimundo Soto, 2003. "Market-Oriented Reforms: Definitions and Measurement," Documentos de Trabajo 237, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Josh Lerner & Antoinette Schoar, 2004. "Transaction Structures in the Developing World," NBER Working Papers 10348, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Stefan Voigt & Lorenz Blume, . "Wenn Justitia die Hand aufhält – Ursachen und Folgen korrupter Justizbehörden," German Working Papers in Law and Economics 2005-1-1133, Berkeley Electronic Press. [Downloadable!]
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