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Enforceability of labor law : evidence from a labor court in Mexico

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  • Kaplan, David S.
  • Sadka, Joyce

Abstract

The authors analyze lawsuits involving publicly-appointed lawyers in a labor court in Mexico to study how a rigid law is enforced. They show that, even after a judge has awarded something to a worker alleging unjust dismissal, the award goes uncollected 56 percent of the time. Workers who are dismissed after working more than seven years, however, do not leave these awards uncollected because their legally-mandated severance payments are larger. A simple theoretical model is used to generate predictions on how lawsuit outcomes should depend on the information available to the worker and on the worker's cost of collecting an award after trial, both of which are determined in part by the worker's lawyer. Differences in outcomes across lawyers are consistent with the hypothesis that firms take advantage both of workers who are poorly informed and of workers who find it more costly to collect an award after winning at trial.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaplan, David S. & Sadka, Joyce, 2008. "Enforceability of labor law : evidence from a labor court in Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4483, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4483
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Almeida, Rita K. & Carneiro, Pedro, 2007. "Inequality and Employment in a Dual Economy: Enforcement of Labor Regulation in Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 3094, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. David S. Kaplan & Joyce Sadka & Jorge Luis Silva‐Mendez, 2008. "Litigation and Settlement: New Evidence from Labor Courts in Mexico," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(2), pages 309-350, June.
    6. Lanjouw, Jean O & Schankerman, Mark, 2004. "Protecting Intellectual Property Rights: Are Small Firms Handicapped?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(1), pages 45-74, April.
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    8. Gong, Jiong & McAfee, R Preston, 2000. "Pretrial Negotiation, Litigation, and Procedural Rules," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(2), pages 218-238, April.
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    10. Eric Helland, 2003. "Contingency Fees, Settlement Delay, and Low-Quality Litigation: Empirical Evidence from Two Datasets," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 517-542, October.
    11. Kaplan, David S. & Gonzalez, Gabriel Martinez & Robertson, Raymond, 2007. "Mexican employment dynamics : evidence from matched firm-worker data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4433, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. David S. Kaplan & Joyce Sadka, 2011. "The Plaintiff's Role in Enforcing a Court Ruling: Evidence from a Labor Court in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 38198, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Finkelstein-Shapiro, Alan & Sarzosa, Miguel, 2012. "Unemployement Protection for Informal Workers in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4542, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Ruy Lama & Gustavo Leyva & Carlos Urrutia, 2022. "Labor Market Policies and Business Cycles in Emerging Economies," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 70(2), pages 300-337, June.
    4. Kaplan, David S. & Sadka, Joyce, 2011. "The Plaintiff's Role in Enforcing a Court Ruling: Evidence from a Labor Court in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3193, Inter-American Development Bank.
    5. Francisco Perez-Arce & Maria Prados & Erik Meijer & Jinkook Lee, 2018. "Social Security Coverage around the World: The Case of China and Mexico," Working Papers wp395, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    6. Danielle Venn, 2009. "Legislation, Collective Bargaining and Enforcement: Updating the OECD Employment Protection Indicators," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 89, OECD Publishing.
    7. World Bank, 2013. "Labor Markets for Inclusive Growth," World Bank Publications - Reports 16579, The World Bank Group.

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