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A machine-learning history of English caselaw and legal ideas prior to the Industrial Revolution II: applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2020

Peter Grajzl  and
Peter Murrell
Peter Grajzl
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, The Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA, USA CESifo, Munich, Germany
Peter Murrell*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD20742, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: pmurrell@umd.edu
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Abstract

This is the second of two papers that generate and analyze quantitative estimates of the development of English caselaw and associated legal ideas before the Industrial Revolution. In the first paper, we estimated a 100-topic structural topic model, named the topics, and showed how to interpret topic-prevalence timelines. Here, we provide examples of new insights that can be gained from these estimates. We first provide a bird's-eye view, aggregating the topics into 15 themes. Procedure is the highest-prevalence theme, but by the mid-18th century attention to procedure decreases sharply, indicating solidification of court institutions. Important ideas on real-property were substantially settled by the mid-17th century and on contracts and torts by the mid-18th century. Thus, crucial elements of caselaw developed before the Industrial Revolution. We then examine the legal ideas associated with England's financial revolution. Many new legal ideas relevant to finance were well accepted before the Glorious Revolution. Finally, we examine the sources of law used in the courts. Emphasis on precedent-based reasoning increases by 1650, but diffusion was gradual, with pertinent ideas solidifying only after 1700. Ideas on statute applicability were accepted by the mid-16th century but debates on legislative intent were still occurring in 1750.

Keywords

CaselawEnglish historyfinancial revolutioninstitutional developmentsources of lawC80N00K10K43O43
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Institutional Economics , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 201 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Millennium Economics Ltd 2020

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