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Legal Institutions, Innovation and Growth

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Abstract

We build a stylized model of endogenous technological change and analyze the relationship between legal institutions, innovation and growth. Two legal systems are analyzed: a rigid system, where an uncontingent law is written ex ante (before knowing the current technology) and a flexible system where law-makers select the law ex post (after observing the current technology). We show that flexible legal systems dominate in terms of welfare, amount of innovation and output growth in economies at intermediate stages of technological development -- which are periods when legal change is more needed -- while rigid legal systems are preferable at early stages of technological development, when commitment problems are more severe. For mature technologies the two legal systems are shown to be equivalent. Surprisingly, we find that rigid legal systems may induce excessive (greater than first-best) R&D investment and output growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Anderlini & Leonardo Felli & Giovanni Immordino & Alessandro Riboni, 2010. "Legal Institutions, Innovation and Growth," CSEF Working Papers 256, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:sef:csefwp:256
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    Cited by:

    1. Dung Phuong Hoang & Lan Khanh Chu, 2023. "Progression to Higher Economic Complexity: The Role of Institutions," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 4339-4366, December.
    2. Giovanni Immordino & Michele Polo, 2012. "Antitrust in Innovative Industries: the Optimal Legal Standards," Working Papers 434, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    3. Viktor Koval & Oksana Borodina & Iryna Lomachynska & Piotr Olczak & Anzor Mumladze & Dominika Matuszewska, 2022. "Model Analysis of Eco-Innovation for National Decarbonisation Transition in Integrated European Energy System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Leontitsis, Alexandros & Philippas, Dionisis & Sickles, Robin C. & Tziogkidis, Panagiotis, 2018. "Evaluating countries’ innovation potential: an international perspective," Working Papers 18-011, Rice University, Department of Economics.
    5. Samuel Amponsah Odei, 2024. "The relationship between perceived institutional conditions and firm-level innovations in emerging markets: Moderating effects of firm ownerships," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(1), pages 1-25, January.
    6. Luca Anderlini & Leonardo Felli & Giovanni Immordino & Alessandro Riboni, 2013. "Legal Institutions, Innovation, And Growth," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 54(3), pages 937-956, August.
    7. Furukawa, Yuichi & Lai, Tat-kei & Sato, Kenji, 2017. "Receptivity and Innovation," MPRA Paper 81536, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Yuichi FURUKAWA & Sumiko NIWA, 2021. "Deflation and Declining Business Dynamism in a Cash-in-Advance Economy," Discussion papers 21058, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Fernanda Cigainski Lisbinski & Heloisa Lee Burnquist, 2024. "Institutions and financial development: Comparative analysis of developed and developing economies," EconomiA, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(2), pages 347-376, May.
    10. Immordino, Giovanni & Polo, Michele, 2014. "Antitrust, legal standards and investment," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 36-50.
    11. Lifeng Zhang, 2024. "Public expenditure, risk sharing and economic growth," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 92(1), pages 67-89, January.
    12. Cui, Xin & Wang, Chunfeng & Ma, Tingting, 2025. "Bankruptcy reform and breakthrough innovation: Evidence from the quasi-experiment in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Massenot Baptiste, 2010. "Contract Enforcement, Litigation, and Economic Development," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 10.14, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    14. Cristian Barra & Nazzareno Ruggiero, 2023. "Quality of Government and Types of Innovation—Empirical Evidence for Italian Manufacturing Firms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 1749-1789, June.
    15. Furukawa, Yuichi & Lai, Tat-kei & Sato, Kenji, 2019. "Love of Novelty: A Source of Innovation-Based Growth... or Underdevelopment Traps?," MPRA Paper 92915, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Massenot, Baptiste, 2011. "Financial development in adversarial and inquisitorial legal systems," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 602-608.
    17. De Chiara, Alessandro & Manna, Ester, 2022. "Corruption, regulation, and investment incentives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    18. Adomako, Samuel & Medase, Stephen Kehinde & Zhang, Stephen X., 2024. "How and when adversity breeds ingenuity in an emerging market: Environmental threats, co-innovation, and frugal innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(8).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination

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