On the Optimal Number of Courts
33 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2010
Date Written: October 7, 2010
Abstract
This is the first paper to investigate whether the number of high courts in a country has systematic effects both on the quality of its legal system and on its level of economic development more generally. It is theorized that due to the division of labor and a higher degree of specialization, high courts might be advantageous in terms of court productivity. Yet, they might also be disadvantageous in terms of a less coherent legal system. It is empirically tested whether the positive or the negative effects prevail. Results show that a larger number of high courts never has any positive effect; indeed, with regard to some dependent variables, a greater number of high courts is correlated with worse outcomes.
Keywords: Organization of Courts, Specialized Courts, Constitutional vs. Supreme Courts, Independence of Courts vs. Constitutional Review, Legal Origins, Consistency of Judicial Decision-Making, Court Capture, Judges’ Productivity
JEL Classification: H11, K40, O17, P48
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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