Legal Origins Theory Questioned: Common Law Not Clearly Superior for Growth
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Hayek argued common law better protects liberty and promotes growth vs civil law due to decentralized judiciary's local knowledge.
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Legal origins theory held common law countries had better investor protections and regulations.
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Theory led to reforms in civil law countries to be more business-friendly.
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But more recent studies found legal origin has weaker impact on growth than thought.
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Theory may have been self-fulfilling by attracting more investment to common law countries.