Data and Code for: Access to Justice and Economic Development: Evidence from an International Panel Dataset

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Arnaud Deseau, Aix-Marseille School of Economics (AMSE) ; Adam Levai, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER); Michèle Schmiegelow, UCLouvain

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
replication			12/20/2024 05:26:AM

Project Citation:

Deseau, Arnaud, Levai, Adam, and Schmiegelow, Michèle. Data and Code for: Access to Justice and Economic Development: Evidence from an International Panel Dataset. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-12-21. https://doi.org/10.3886/E210401V1

Project Description

Summary: Abstract of the paper: This paper evaluates the importance of access to justice (ATJ) for economic growth. To do so, we create a new database on the number of judges per capita by collecting data from various public institutions and academic publications. We use these data as a country-level indicator to capture the structural evolution of ATJ from 1970 to 2019 for a wide range of developed and developing countries. Using an instrumental variable approach in a dynamic panel setting to deal with endogeneity, we show that ATJ has a sizable positive effect on economic growth. The substantial aggregate effect of ATJ on growth is independent of countries' legal origin, customary law, rule of law or level of democracy. However, we find evidence that the economic returns from ATJ are higher in poorer countries. In terms of mechanisms, our results suggest that ATJ promotes growth via higher government accountability and improved institutional quality.

Funding Sources: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-17-EURE-0020); Initiative d'excellence - A*MIDEX; Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique - Projet de Recherches (FNRS-PDR) (26036434)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: [Access to Justice; , Economic Growth; , Institutions; , Judges; ]

Geographic Coverage: World

Time Period(s): 1970 – 2021

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V1 [2024-12-21]

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