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Judicial quality and regional firm performance: The case of Indian states

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  • Chakraborty, Pavel

Abstract

Higher quality institutions help a firm to invest in institutional-dependent inputs, which might affect a firm's performance. I use data for Indian manufacturing that matches state-by-state firm-level data with state-by-state data on particularly important institution – Judicial quality. Results show that judicial quality is a significant determinant of higher firm performance – both for exports and domestic sales. My most conservative estimate suggests that a 10% increase in judicial quality of a region helps to increase the sales of a firm by 1–2%. I explicitly control for the ‘selection’ effect by using a two-step Average Treatment Effect (ATE) procedure. The results also support my initial findings. My results are robust to a battery of robustness checks.

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  • Chakraborty, Pavel, 2016. "Judicial quality and regional firm performance: The case of Indian states," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 902-918.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:44:y:2016:i:4:p:902-918
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2016.07.001
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    2. Munmi Saikia, 2022. "Good institutions, more FDI? Evidence from Indian firm-level data," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 411-436, July.
    3. Bhattacharya, Sourav & Chakraborty, Pavel & Chatterjee, Chirantan, 2022. "Intellectual property regimes and wage inequality," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    4. Ummad Mazhar & Fahd Rehman, 2019. "Diehard or delicate? Violence and young firm performance in a developing country," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 236-247, October.
    5. Kapri, Kul, 2021. "Court fairness and firm level export decisions," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 269-277.
    6. Giuseppina Gianfreda & Giovanna Vallanti, 2020. "Labor Courts and Firing Costs: The Labor‐Market Effects of Trial Delays," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 40-84, January.
    7. Panayotis Kapopoulos & Anastasios Rizos, 2024. "Judicial efficiency and economic growth: Evidence based on European Union data," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 71(1), pages 101-131, February.
    8. Lopez-Martin, Bernabe & Perez-Reyna, David, 2021. "Contracts, firm dynamics, and aggregate productivity," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    9. Adnan Habib & Shahriar Kabir, 2023. "Performance of Asian MFIs: The Role of Capital Structure and Macro-Institutional Quality (Article)," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 15-40.
    10. Alexeev, Michael & Chernyavskiy, Andrey, 2021. "The impact of institutional quality on manufacturing sectors: A panel data analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(3).
    11. Aleksandra Gregorič & Larissa Rabbiosi & Grazia D. Santangelo, 2021. "Diaspora ownership and international technology licensing by emerging market firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(4), pages 671-691, June.
    12. Shah, Muhammad Hashim & Xiao, Zuoping & Abdullah,, 2023. "Internal pyramid structure, judicial efficiency, firm-level governance and dividend policy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 764-785.
    13. Shah, Muhammad Hashim & Xiao, Zuoping & Abdullah, & Quresh, Shakir & Ahmad, Mushtaq, 2020. "Internal pyramid structure, contract enforcement, minority investor protection, and firms’ performance: Evidence from emerging economies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    14. Aleksandra Gregorič & Larissa Rabbiosi & Grazia D. Santangelo, 0. "Diaspora ownership and international technology licensing by emerging market firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-21.
    15. Pavithra Manivannan & Susan Thomas & Bhargavi Zaveri, 2022. "Evaluating contract enforcement by courts in India: a litigant's lens," Working Papers 16, xKDR.
    16. Roberto Ganau & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2019. "Do high‐quality local institutions shape labour productivity in Western European manufacturing firms?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(4), pages 1633-1666, August.
    17. Mazhar Ummad, 2019. "Terrorism and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 1-17, January.
    18. Sila Mishra, 2023. "‘Cyclic syndrome’ of arrears and efficiency of Indian judiciary," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-27, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Judicial quality; Intermediate inputs; Firm performance; Exports; Domestic sales;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory

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