Judge Bias in Labor Courts and Firm Performance
IMF Working Papers, February 12, 2021
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- Judge Bias in Labor Courts and Firm Performance
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Pierre Cahuc, Stéphane Carcillo, Berengere Patault, Flavien Moreau
- Published: February 12, 2021
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513569383.001
Summary and research question
- Research question: Does labor court uncertainty and judge subjectivity influence firms’ performance?
- Data: information on more than 145,000 Appeal court rulings combined with administrative firm-level records covering the whole universe of French firms.
- Identification: quasi-random assignment of judges to cases.
Key findings
- Judge bias has statistically significant effects on the survival, employment, and sales of small low-performing firms.
- The uncertainty associated with the actual dispersion of judge bias is small and has a non-significant impact on their average outcomes.
Methods and scope
- Sample: more than 145,000 Appeal court rulings; administrative firm-level records covering the whole universe of French firms.
- Identification strategy: quasi-random assignment of judges to cases, enabling measurement of judge-level bias and its effects on firm outcomes.
Subjects and keywords
- Subject: Economic and financial statistics; Employment; Labor; Return on investment; Wages
- Keywords: appeal court rulings database; Dismissal compensation; firm survival; firm's employment; judge bias; judge level; pro-worker bias; WP
Content in this bundle
- Working Paper