Arbeitspapier
Measuring unmeasurable: How to map laws to numbers using leximetrics
As the institutional literature convincingly shows, socioeconomic phenomena are to a large extent shaped by the formal institutions, that is, legal acts (laws and ordinances). However, the latter are formulated in a specific language that is difficult to understand, let alone to measure. However, since the early 1990s, a whole branch of economic analysis of governmental regulations has evolved. It is known as leximetrics, i.e., the measuring of laws. It covers a wide range of economic sectors, such as financial, labor, housing, and product markets, among others. The two most popular methods are codification and surveys. Under the first method, the legal texts are analyzed, relevant provisions extracted, and numeric values assigned depending on these provisions. Under the surveys method, local experts are asked to provide their assessment of currently valid legal provisions and sometimes also their enforcement. In both cases, the legal texts are mapped onto real-valued indices with the objective of gauging the intensity of governmental regulations. These indices can be and are successfully used to explain the economic phenomena. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the leximetric literature and demonstrates interdependences between different types of governmental regulations.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: DIW Discussion Papers ; No. 1933
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
Index Numbers and Aggregation; Leading indicators
Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies; includes inheritance and gift taxes
Real Estate Law
Production Analysis and Firm Location: Government Policy
- Subject
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leximetrics
governmental regulations
economics
- Event
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Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
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Kholodilin, Konstantin A.
Pfeiffer, Linus
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
- (where)
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Berlin
- (when)
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2021
- Handle
- Last update
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10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Kholodilin, Konstantin A.
- Pfeiffer, Linus
- Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
Time of origin
- 2021
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Laws of small numbers : Some applications to conditional curve estimation
Laws of small numbers: extremes and rare events
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From Betti numbers to ℓ²-Betti numbers
Laws of Large Numbers for Non-Homogeneous Markov Systems
Teaching Index Numbers to economists
From algebraic to transcendental numbers
Table II. numbers to logarithms.
Erratum to: Isolated Diophantine Numbers
A New Map of (International Law’s) Empire?
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Measuring unmeasurable : How to map laws to numbers using leximetrics
Laws of small numbers : Some applications to conditional curve estimation
Laws of small numbers: extremes and rare events
Laws of small numbers: extremes and rare events
From Betti numbers to ℓ²-Betti numbers
Laws of Large Numbers for Non-Homogeneous Markov Systems
Teaching Index Numbers to economists
From algebraic to transcendental numbers
Table II. numbers to logarithms.
Erratum to: Isolated Diophantine Numbers
A New Map of (International Law’s) Empire?