The Economic Consequences of Legal OriginsIn the last decade, economists have produced a considerable body of research suggesting that the historical origin of a country's laws is highly correlated with a broad range of its legal rules and regulations, as well as with economic outcomes. We summarize this evidence and attempt a unified interpretation. We also address several objections to the empirical claim that legal origins matter. Finally, we assess the implications of this research for economic reform. |
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20th century Andrei Shleifer civil law countries common and civil common law countries contract enforcement corporate governance courts creditor rights culture Debt Enforcement disclosure Djankov economic outcomes Edward Glaeser effects of legal entry regulations evidence financial development Financial Economics financial markets firms Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes France French civil law French legal origin German Legal Origin government ownership growth historical institutions instrumental variable investor protection Journal of Economics Journal of Financial judges judicial independence labor markets Law and Economics Law French legal and regulatory legal origin countries legal origins influence Legal Origins Theory legal rules legal system legal traditions legal transplantation LLSV Luigi Zingales market capitalization Mimeo ownership of banks Panel Paper percentage points procedures property rights R-squared Rafael La Porta Raghuram Rajan Rajan and Zingales reforms regressions regulation of entry Revolution Scandinavian Legal Origin self-dealing shareholder protection Significant social control stock market stock market capitalization transplantation Volpin World