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Rights as Signals

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  • Farber, Daniel A

Abstract

Because rights operate as trumps over normal governmental interests, they have an inherent cost. Consequently, by entrenching protection for human rights, governments can signal a willingness to give up power in the short term to obtain long-term benefits. Investors can infer from this that the government has a low discount rate and is less likely to pose a threat of expropriation. Similarly, when courts vigorously enforce human rights, they dramatize their judicial independence, which is valuable to investors, who themselves may have no interest in human rights. Thus, human rights enforcement may help encourage investment and thereby indirectly foster economic growth. Copyright 2002 by the University of Chicago.

Suggested Citation

  • Farber, Daniel A, 2002. "Rights as Signals," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 83-98, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:31:y:2002:i:1:p:83-98
    DOI: 10.1086/323889
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna Lewczuk, 2021. "Are civil liberties contagious? Analysis of determinants of de facto civil rights protection in post-socialist countries," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 187-217, June.
    2. Jerg Gutmann & Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska & Stefan Voigt, 2024. "The comparative constitutional compliance database," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 95-115, January.
    3. Anna Lewczuk, 2021. "On the Relationship Between Civil Liberties and Socio-Economic Development in Post-Socialist States," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 5-29.
    4. Goderis, Benedikt & Versteeg, Mila, 2014. "The diffusion of constitutional rights," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-19.
    5. De Visser Maartje, 2019. "Constitutional Judges as Agents for Development," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 691-722, October.
    6. Min Zhou, 2014. "Signaling commitments, making concessions: Democratization and state ratification of international human rights treaties, 1966–2006," Rationality and Society, , vol. 26(4), pages 475-508, November.
    7. Lorenz Blume & Stefan Voigt, 2007. "The Economic Effects of Human Rights," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 509-538, November.
    8. Stefan Voigt, 2011. "Positive constitutional economics II—a survey of recent developments," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 205-256, January.
    9. Jan Fałkowski & Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska, 2015. "Przyczyny ustanawiania i stabilność konstytucji państwa - perspektywa ekonomiczna," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 3, pages 79-105.
    10. Vinod, Hrishikesh D., 2006. "Should Asians demand both entrepreneurship and human rights?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 14-28, February.
    11. Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska, 2015. "Economic Effects of Post-Socialist Constitutions Revisited (nearly) 25 Years from the Outset of Transition," Working Papers 2015-33, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    12. Lin, Wanlin & Lin, George C.S., 2023. "Strategizing actors and agents in the functioning of informal property Rights: The tragicomedy of the extralegal housing market in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    13. Yukihiro Yazaki, 2014. "Rights and judicial independence," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 179-201, May.
    14. Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska, 2009. "Constitutions and economic reforms in transition: an empirical study," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-41, March.
    15. Emilie Sophie Le Caous & Fenghueih Huarng, 2021. "Economic Complexity and Human Development: Moderated by Logistics and International Migration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-23, February.

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