Law and finance: Why does legal origin matter? [Dataset]

This paper assesses empirically two theories of why legal origin influences financial development. The political channel stresses that legal traditions differ in the priority they give to the rights of individual investors vis-à-vis the state and this has repercussions for financial development. The adaptability channel holds that legal traditions differ in their ability to adjust to changing commercial circumstances and legal systems that adapt quickly will foster financial development more effectively. We use historical comparisons and cross-country regressions to assess the validity of these two channels. We find that legal origin matters for financial development because legal traditions differ in their ability to adapt efficiently to evolving economic conditions.

本文通过实证评估了法律起源影响金融发展的两种理论。政治渠道强调，不同法律传统在赋予个体投资者权利相对于国家权利的优先级上存在差异，而这对金融发展产生影响。适应性渠道认为，不同法律传统在适应变化的商业环境方面能力各异，能够快速适应的法律体系将更有效地促进金融发展。我们通过历史比较与跨国回归分析来评估这两种渠道的有效性。研究发现，法律起源对金融发展具有重要意义，原因在于不同法律传统在有效适应不断演变的经济条件方面能力存在差异。