Explaining constitutional garrulity

Stefan Voigt

International Review of Law and Economics, 2009, vol. 29, issue 4, 290-303

Abstract: Constitutions differ dramatically in length although they serve very similar functions everywhere. This paper tries to identify some determinants of constitutional length. It contains a new dataset spelling out the length of 135 constitutions in words. It turns out that a common law legal origin significantly increases the length of the constitution, whereas countries in the Middle East and North Africa have significantly shorter constitutions. Further, having been a British or Spanish colony is correlated with longer constitutions, a higher share of Protestants with shorter constitutions.

Keywords: Constitutional; Choice; Positive; Constitutional; Economics; Endogenous; Constitution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:29:y:2009:i:4:p:290-303

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