Miche le Schmiegelow Boeken

This book tackles two significant challenges in law and economics theory and policy. The first challenge is the rise of legal origins theory, which argues against the convergence of common law and civil law by claiming the economic superiority of common law. The second challenge stems from economic crises in financial markets that underpin this assertion, raising doubts about the rule of law and institutional economics. Engaging with legal origins theory across political science, sociology, and economics, the book broadens its scope to include comparative law, legal history, dynamic econometric analysis, and “quasi-natural experiments” that provide counterfactual evidence of various institutional regimes in divided countries. These methodologies enhance the reliability of assessing the economic impact of different legal origins in developed, newly industrialized, and developing countries, regardless of their financial crisis status. The book examines how the Asian financial crises and the American subprime crisis could have been addressed through common or civil law resources. It highlights issues of substantive law remaining ineffective without proper procedural rules and judicial structures. A notable finding is that common law procedures, dominated by lawyers, are often slower and more expensive than judge-managed civil law procedures. The interaction between culture and law in countries like the Netherlands, Japan, and Chi