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The Structure of American Legal Institutions and the Diffusion of Wrongful-Discharge Laws, 1978–1999

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Robert C. Bird  and
Donald J. Smythe
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Abstract

This article evaluates how the social structure of American legal institutions influenced the diffusion of wrongful-discharge laws over the period 1978–1999, and it assesses whether economic or political variables influenced the diffusion process. The results are surprising and quite striking. Precedents by other courts within the same federal circuit region were generally more influential in the diffusion process than precedents by courts in neighboring states or by courts within the same census or West legal reporting region, even though the precedents were on matters of state law rather than federal law and the decisions were usually made by state courts rather than federal courts. There is some limited evidence that political variables may also have been a factor, but economic variables were not statistically significant, even though the new employment laws may have had important economic consequences.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , December 2008 , pp. 833 - 864
Copyright
© 2008 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

We are much indebted to the editor of this journal, an editorial board member, and three anonymous referees for many thoughtful comments and suggestions. Our thanks also to the participants in the discussion group on empirical legal studies at the AALS Conference on Commercial Law at the Crossroads in Montreal, 2005; as well as the participants in the Panel on the Structure and Performance of Legal Institutions at the ISNIE Annual Conference in Boulder, 2006; and the participants in the Panel on Legal Process at the Canadian Law and Economics Association Annual Meetings in Toronto, 2006, for many helpful comments. Our thanks to Gerald Wright for help with the political variables and to Tyler Morgan for his diligent research assistance. Of course, we alone are responsible for any remaining errors or omissions.

References

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