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The quality of the legal system and labor market performance around the world

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  • Horst Feldmann

Abstract

Using data on 75 countries for six years in the period 1995 to 2003, this paper analyzes empirically whether and to what extent the quality of the legal system affects the performance of the labor market. According to the regression results, a legal system characterized by a dependent judiciary, biased courts, a lack of intellectual property protection and a lack of integrity increases unemployment and lowers the employment level. The magnitude of the effect seems to be substantial, particularly among young people.
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  • Horst Feldmann, 2009. "The quality of the legal system and labor market performance around the world," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 39-65, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:28:y:2009:i:1:p:39-65
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-008-9092-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Araujo & Vladimir Ponczek & André Portela Souza, 2016. "Informality in an economy with active labour courts," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(30), pages 2868-2882, June.
    2. Callais, Justin T. & Mkrtchian, Gor, 2024. "Court-packing and judicial manipulation," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Araujo, Luis Fernando Oliveira de & Ponczek, Vladimir Pinheiro, 2012. "Informal wages in an economy with active labor courts," Textos para discussão 294, FGV EESP - Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employment; Legal system; Rule of law; Unemployment; E24; J23; J64; K00; K40;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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