NCJ Number
213777
Date Published
June 2005
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This report analyzes the importance of the judicial infrastructure to the level and growth of prosperity in the Netherlands.
Abstract
Main conclusions from the research review indicate that the institutional context of a country has a significant influence on the rate of economic growth. More specifically, evidence suggests the central importance of a reliable judicial infrastructure to economic growth, particularly including factors such as the “rule of law,” protection of property, enforcement, and protection of rights. The functioning of the judiciary and the protection of private property rights provides a better explanation for international differences in economic growth rates than does the differences between the legal traditions in different countries. In terms of policy implications for the Netherlands, the data indicated that the Netherlands scored very well on judicial infrastructure measures from an international perspective, yet there does appear to be room for improvement in the protection of creditors. The analysis is based on a review of the available international research literature involving measurements of economic development, such as indicators of the amount of physical and human capital in a country, indicators for the influence of government policy, and the level of the national income during the study period. Research projects are delineated as either subjective or objective evaluations of economic development and each set of research projects is reviewed in turn. Box, tables, footnotes, references