There is extensive literature on whether courts or legislators produce efficient rules, but which of them produces rules efficiently? The law is subject touncertainty ex ante; uncertainty makes the outcomes of trials difficult to predict and deters parties from settling disputes out of court. In...

This paper develops a general model of anticommons fragmentation in property. Using several related examples, we consider the equilibria obtained under different scenarios. The various illustrations are later utilized to develop a model of fragmented property. The model reveals that the private...

In cooperation with Lex Mundi member law firms in 109 countries, we measure and describe the exact procedures used by litigants and courts to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent and to collect a bounced check. We use these data to construct an index of procedural formalism of dispute...

This paper revisits the issue of the unilateral divorce law, taking into account that: 1/ the decisions to engage in marriage and then to divorce or to stay married are fundamentally sequential decisions; 2/ household consumption has a large joint component, generating economies of scale. The...

This paper briefly summarizes recent research on justice, in particular Konow’s (2003) positive theory of justice. This research is then applied to recent events in Iceland: the attempt by Iceland’s largest bank to take over a savings bank. Shortly after the deal was announced the Icelandic...

Geert Hofstede presented statistical evidence purporting to identify intercultural co-operation and its importance for survival in his scholarship work “cultures and organizations”. This article presents a study, which describes how differences in national culture can affect or influence the...

This publication addresses theoretical and practical aspects of rural life in Russia. The authors developed approaches to enhance rural evelopment in the framework of regional managerial strategies. Operation of the institutions of local development in Arhkangelsk oblast and the Republic of...

Present work contains municipal reform implmentation results for 2007. The authors analyzed modifications in the federal legislation regarding local selfgovernance, regional legislation which regulates issues relatyed to newly created settlements in transition period. The authors analyzed...

This paper studies the factors driving changes in judicial independence (JI) as incorporated in constitutions. Two indicators of constitutionally safeguarded JI are constructed. Variations in these indicators are identified based on changes in the constitutions of as many as 100 countries that...

The analysis of the interaction between Sharia and legislation in action along with the compatibility of Sharia with contemporary Russian law is important from both a scientific and a practical point of view. There are several reasons for the increasing interest in this issue: the renaissance of...