This study provides an interpretative scheme of the so-called “demand for justice” in Italy. Using a microeconomic model of the choice of litigants, the characteristics of the judicial, legal, and economic systems have been modeled as they influence the decisions of the two parties and may cause opportunistic behavior, which, in their turn, may have an impact on the shape of the two systems. An empirically testable model has been derived from this theoretical framework. The empirical analysis shows that lengthy time-spans and raised costs of associated processes and high market rates have a disincentive effect on recourse to justice, which seems to prevail over that connected to opportunistic behavior of the plaintiff. We do not find evidence for the socalled pathological demand hypothesis, which has been emphasized in recent literature.
Key words: Demand for justice, incentives, judicial system.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Felli, E.L., Londoñ-Bedoya, D.A., Solferino, N., Tria, G. (2008). The “Demand for Justice” in Italy: Civil Litigation and the Judicial System. In: Padovano, F., Ricciuti, R. (eds) Italian Institutional Reforms: A Public Choice Perspective. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72141-5_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72141-5_9
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-72140-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-72141-5
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)