The Rule of Law: Measurement and Deep Roots

Jerg Gutmann and Stefan Voigt

No 1, ILE Working Paper Series from University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics

Abstract: This paper does three things. First, based on a limited number of theoretically established dimensions, it proposes a new de facto indicator for the rule of law. It is the first such indicator to take the quality of legal norms explicitly into account. Second, using this indicator we shed new light on the relationship between the rule of law and the political system of a country. Third, because political systems hardly predetermine the rule of law level of a country, we investigate the roots of the rule of law. As theory on this specific question is scarce and the rule of law is closely associated with income levels, we draw on a topical literature that deals with the fundamental causes of economic development. Our findings suggest that specific determinants of long-run development operate via the rule of law, whereas others are not related to the rule of law at all.

Keywords: Rule of Law; Democracy; Dictatorship; Economic Development; Geography; Institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B41 C81 C82 H11 K00 O17 O43 O57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hpe and nep-law
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The rule of law: Measurement and deep roots (2018)
Working Paper: The Rule of Law: Measurement and Deep Roots (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:ilewps:1

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