Judicial System and Courts
Chapter 4: Case studies on Bangladesh and Mozambique
The Institutional Diagnostic Project case study on Bangladesh and Mozambique is an attempt to explain the paradox of sustainability of the former and the disappointed hopes of the growth of the latter.
Appraising institutional challenges in the early stages of development- Chapter 10: Conclusion
Two central lessons can be drawn from the foregoing analysis. First, many institutional failures are traceable to the way politics functions. Therefore, any diagnosis or understanding of the impediments to a country’s long-term development that overlooks the country’s political economy…
Chapter 9: Identifying institutional obstacles to structural transformation: state capacity and property rights
After having examined the role of politics (in last chapter) in spurring or slowing down structural transformation and development, we are now ready to probe the issue of state capacity. This will complete our discussion of the role of governance-related…
Chapter 8: Identifying institutional obstacles to structural transformation: the role of politics
In this chapter, the focus is on issues that involve politics. More specifically, we look at the role of political leadership and state autonomy in development. The institutions involved determine the quality of governance in a country, but they are…
Chapter 7: Identifying obstacles to structural transformation: an economic perspective
Whether in the four case study countries or in the successful development stories of South Korea and Taiwan at the time when they were at a comparable level of income per capita, the issue of development consists of providing the…
Appraising institutional challenges in the early stages of development: Introduction to part 3
This last part of the volume puts together the lessons learned from the in-depth case studies undertaken within the Institutional Diagnostic Programme (IDP), and the more cursory analysis of the success development stories of South Korea and Taiwan at about…
Research on State, Bureaucracy, and Judiciary: A Synthesis
The state, bureaucracy, and judiciary synthesis paper finds that the research conducted under this theme makes an important contribution to the literature discussing the issue that formal institutions cannot be created at will, and that they require a suitable cultural…
In-group bias in the Indian Judiciary: Evidence from 5 million cases
We study judicial in-group bias in Indian criminal courts, collecting data on over 5 million criminal case records from 2010–2018. We exploit quasi-random assignment of cases to judges to examine whether defendant outcomes are affected by assignment to a judge…
The Promise of Machine Learning from the Courts of India
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) – adaptive computer programs that can perform functions typically associated with the human mind – offer new opportunities for improving the productivity of large-scale organizations. Recent advances in data collection, systems of aggregation,…
Who is in justice? Caste, Religion and Gender in the Courts of Bihar over a Decade
Abstract: Bihar is widely regarded as one of India’s poorest and most divided states. It has also been the site of many social movements that have left indelible marks on the state’s politics and identity. Little is currently known about…
Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic: Chapter 10
Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic Chapter 10: Rule of law and judicial independence Abstract: The rule of law and judicial independence are a project yet to be achieved in Mozambique. The different attempts made so far to reform the legal system, mainly…
Religion, Politics, and Judicial Independence: Theory and Evidence
Abstract: Most enlightenment philosophers argued that the separation between Church and State would prevent capture of resources by one state religion. We formalize and test a theory that addresses a different danger. We demonstrate that a reduction in the separation…
Bangladesh Institutional Diagnostic – Chapter 10
Bangladesh Institutional Diagnostic Chapter 10: Political economy analysis of the role of the judiciary in land dispossession litigation in Bangladesh Chapter Overview Table of contents List of tables and figures List of abbreviations Glossary Introduction The effectiveness of the judiciary…
EDI Podcast: Joyce Sadka discusses labour law reform in Mexico
On 1 May 2019, Mexico passed a new labour law. This was seen by many as the most substantial labour law reform in Mexico in a century. In the lead up to the law reform, EDI-funded research led by Assistant…
Research Insight: Can child marriage law change attitudes and behaviour? (Bangladesh)
Experimental Evidence from an Information Intervention in Bangladesh. As part of an EDI case study on early marriage in Bangladesh, we conducted a randomised information intervention in 80 villages following a recent change in child marriage law in the country….
Research Insight: Asset ownership and female empowerment: Evidence from a natural experiment in Pakistan
The literature shows that women do not have an equal share in wealth as men, even within the same household, where large inequalities exist in ownership of land and productive assets. Women’s increased control of resources has been shown to…
Information and Lawyer Quality: Evidence from a Field Experiment in a Mexican Labor Court
Abstract: Does informing plaintiffs about expected case outcomes lead them to hire better quality lawyers? We conduct a randomized field experiment with the Mexico City Labor Court to provide statistical predictions and meetings with court conciliators to potential plaintiffs. Almost…
Artificial Intelligence and courts: improving the quality of justice
How can artificial intelligence help understand the decisions of judges to improve the quality of judiciary systems? Francois Bourguignon (Paris School of Economics, Research Director EDI) and Bilal Siddiqi (University of California, Berkeley) explain how randomised control trials can be…
Why does judicial independence matter?
Judicial independence from state bureaucracies is considered critical for the stability of institutions and for ensuring the rule of law. As such, judicial independence is crucially important for understanding the development process. In this video Dr Sultan Mehmood (University of…
Speeding up justice: transforming Mexico’s labour courts
Professor Christopher Woodruff from the Oxford University explains how EDI research into the constraints of labour courts in Mexico City helped to improve the effectiveness of the judiciary system, and influence the biggest labour law reform in Mexico in a…
Event: “Sharing Solutions” – Judicial decisions as public goods
Virginia Nelder, from the Kenya Law Reform Commission, presents her research on “Access to justice in Kenya’s magistrates’ courts: Judicial systems as public goods.” The project she presents aims to provide the research necessary to make evidence-based policy and legislative…
Event: “Sharing Solutions” – Improving court efficiency
Bilal Siddiqi from the World Bank presents his research on “Using administrative data systems to improve court efficiency (India, Kenya, Tanzania)”. Questions reviewed through this research include: How do disputes get reported? How is the quality of adjudication affected by…
State of science: The judiciary
A presentation by Bilal Siddiqi, DIME, World Bank This presentation was part of the convening event hosted by CEGA at the University of California, Berkeley, in August 2018. Read a summary of the event.
Improving court efficiency (India, Kenya, Tanzania)
“Using administrative data systems to improve court efficiency (India, Kenya, Tanzania)” A presentation by Bilal Siddiqi, DIME, World Bank This presentation was part of the convening event hosted by CEGA at the University of California, Berkeley, in August 2018. Read…
Improving the effectiveness of labor courts
“Improving the effectiveness of labor courts through information and conciliation” A presentation by Joyce Sadka, Enrique Seira and Chris Woodruff, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) This presentation was part of the convening event hosted by CEGA at the University…