The impact of common law on the volume of legal services: An international study

Enzo Dia and Jacques Melitz

No 2021-14, Working Papers from Center for Research in Economics and Statistics

Abstract: We show that the heavy use of legal services relativeto output in the US is not a peculiarity of the country but applies to common law countries in general. It stems largely from better ability to contract and easier access to justice. Yet in close association, common law also opens significantly more room for rent-seeking by lawyers than civil law. There by the costs could outweigh the benefits. Both real GDP per capita and openness emerge as further factors making room for lawyers.

Keywords: Common law; civil law; rent-seeking; openness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K00 K15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2021-09-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-isf and nep-law
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The impact of common law on the volume of legal services: An international study (2024)
Working Paper: The Impact of Common Law on the Volume of Legal Services: An International Study (2021)
Working Paper: The impact of common law on the volume of legal services: An international study (2021)
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