This paper discusses some of the foundations of the rule of law and due process of law. It makes a counterpoint to the widespread idea that more formalism leads to more corruption and worse institutions (Djankov et al, 2003). Following these authors, de degree of formalism, as measured by an...

This article discusses two opposed hypotheses to predict the behavior of judges when they have to decide a claim between parties with asymmetrical economic and political power. The first, which has broad acceptance among policy makers in Brazil, is the jurisdictional uncertainty hypothesis...

Should we increase regulation for provisions and contingencies? In this article I argue that values reserved to cover expenses in judicial claims proportionate a large room for managerial discretionarily, especially in Brazil and other developing countries. Because courts in these countries are...

The recent financial downturn raised concerns about the materiality of information on financial risk exposition. A wave of litigation has risen, where plaintiffs argue that public companies did not disclose appropriately their exposition in different types of financial instruments, including...

This paper is an attempt to measure different institutional settings, regarding the consumer's rights protection, by the consumer's willingness to pay for the guarantee provided by the retail seller. Since the guarantee rely partially on the reputation and partially on the institutions (namely,...