Arbeitspapier
The Nation-State Foundations of Constitutional Compliance
We bring attention to a previously overlooked determinant of de jure-de facto constitutional gaps: a polity's transition to a nation-state. We argue that nation-statehood, predicated on the formation of a strong sense of national identity, lowers the government's incentive to violate constitutional provisions. To test our theory, we use a recently released longitudinal database on constitutional compliance and exploit variation in the timing of countries' attainment of nation-statehood. Our empirical findings substantiate our hypothesis. Based on our preferred estimation approach, nation-statehood bolsters both overall constitutional compliance and constitutional compliance within the subdomains of basic rights, civil rights, and property rights & the rule of law. The estimated long-run effects of nation-statehood on constitutional compliance are considerable in size. Our analysis, thus, illuminates the foundational role of nation-statehood in fostering constitutional compliance.
- Language
-
Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
-
Series: ILE Working Paper Series ; No. 76
- Classification
-
Wirtschaft
Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
Basic Areas of Law: General (Constitutional Law)
Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems
Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
- Subject
-
constitutional compliance
de jure-de facto gap
nation-state
national identity
statehood
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Grajzl, Peter
Gutmann, Jerg
Voigt, Stefan
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
-
University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics (ILE)
- (where)
-
Hamburg
- (when)
-
2023
- Handle
- Last update
-
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
- Grajzl, Peter
- Gutmann, Jerg
- Voigt, Stefan
- University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics (ILE)
Time of origin
- 2023
Other Objects (12)
Assessing the Impact of Federalism on Constitutional Compliance
Mind the Gap – Analyzing the Divergence between Constitutional Text and Constitutional Reality
Leader Characteristics and Constitutional Compliance
The Comparative Constitutional Compliance Database
The Comparative Constitutional Compliance Database
Non-Majoritarian Institutions - A Menace to Constitutional Democracy?
Positive constitutional economics II: a survey of recent developments
Diplomakte Stefan Voigt
Does arbitration blossom when state courts are bad?
Explaining constitutional change: The case of judicial independence
Explaining constitutional change: The case of judicial independence
Social norms and beliefs about collective action, constitutional compliance and intra-gender productivity: An experimental investigation
Assessing the Impact of Federalism on Constitutional Compliance
Mind the Gap – Analyzing the Divergence between Constitutional Text and Constitutional Reality
Leader Characteristics and Constitutional Compliance
The Comparative Constitutional Compliance Database
The Comparative Constitutional Compliance Database
Non-Majoritarian Institutions - A Menace to Constitutional Democracy?
Positive constitutional economics II: a survey of recent developments
Diplomakte Stefan Voigt
Does arbitration blossom when state courts are bad?
Explaining constitutional change: The case of judicial independence
Explaining constitutional change: The case of judicial independence
Social norms and beliefs about collective action, constitutional compliance and intra-gender productivity: An experimental investigation
Assessing the Impact of Federalism on Constitutional Compliance
Mind the Gap – Analyzing the Divergence between Constitutional Text and Constitutional Reality
Leader Characteristics and Constitutional Compliance
The Comparative Constitutional Compliance Database
The Comparative Constitutional Compliance Database
Non-Majoritarian Institutions - A Menace to Constitutional Democracy?
Positive constitutional economics II: a survey of recent developments
Diplomakte Stefan Voigt
Does arbitration blossom when state courts are bad?
Explaining constitutional change: The case of judicial independence
Explaining constitutional change: The case of judicial independence