Domain: Rule of Law and Justice Systems
How legal institutions, judicial independence, property rights, and contract enforcement affect economic development and investment
Temporal scope: 1996-present | Population: Countries worldwide
Key Findings
- Rule of law strongly predicts cross-country income differences, explaining over 50 percent of variance when instrumented with colonial settler mortality, establishing institutions as a fundamental cause of development (positive, strong)
- Judicial independence is positively associated with FDI inflows and economic freedom, as independent courts provide credible commitment to property rights and contract enforcement (positive, moderate)
- Property rights protection is positively associated with domestic and foreign investment rates, as secure property rights reduce transaction costs and incentivize long-term capital formation (positive, strong)
- Faster contract enforcement measured by fewer days to resolve commercial disputes is positively associated with new firm formation and business entry rates across countries (negative, moderate)