{"title":"The inefficiency of courts of justice: industry structure, capacity and misallocation","authors":"Antonio Peyrache, Angelo Zago","doi":"10.1007/s11123-024-00731-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we introduce an optimization model to quantify the trade-off between resource capacity utilization and disposition time for the caseload of courts of justice. The optimization model takes into account the impact of an increase in demand that may arise when disposition time is reduced. We employ the model to measure the impact of various policy reform scenarios on the length of trials, both at the court and system level. We do so by taking into account the potential reallocation of resources, using the population of Italian courts of justice over the 2005–2012 period. Our results show that if all policy scenarios we discuss were to be implemented, the average length of trials for civil cases would be more than halved, from the current 15.5 months to about 7 months. Implementing best practices, the single most effective policy would be equivalent to a 25% increase in the number of judges (which would otherwise cost around 100 million euros per year).</p>","PeriodicalId":16870,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Productivity Analysis","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Productivity Analysis","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11123-024-00731-5","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce an optimization model to quantify the trade-off between resource capacity utilization and disposition time for the caseload of courts of justice. The optimization model takes into account the impact of an increase in demand that may arise when disposition time is reduced. We employ the model to measure the impact of various policy reform scenarios on the length of trials, both at the court and system level. We do so by taking into account the potential reallocation of resources, using the population of Italian courts of justice over the 2005–2012 period. Our results show that if all policy scenarios we discuss were to be implemented, the average length of trials for civil cases would be more than halved, from the current 15.5 months to about 7 months. Implementing best practices, the single most effective policy would be equivalent to a 25% increase in the number of judges (which would otherwise cost around 100 million euros per year).
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Productivity Analysis publishes theoretical and applied research that addresses issues involving the measurement, explanation, and improvement of productivity. The broad scope of the journal encompasses productivity-related developments spanning the disciplines of economics, the management sciences, operations research, and business and public administration. Topics covered in the journal include, but are not limited to, productivity theory, organizational design, index number theory, and related foundations of productivity analysis. The journal also publishes research on computational methods that are employed in productivity analysis, including econometric and mathematical programming techniques, and empirical research based on data at all levels of aggregation, ranging from aggregate macroeconomic data to disaggregate microeconomic data. The empirical research illustrates the application of theory and techniques to the measurement of productivity, and develops implications for the design of managerial strategies and public policy to enhance productivity.
Officially cited as: J Prod Anal