Justice, Growth, and Governance: Causal Evidence on How Courts Shape Economic Outcomes and Conflict

ABSTRACT What do courts contribute to development? This survey organizes a fast‐growing empirical literature around three questions: (1) Growth–do efficient, independent courts spur investment, productivity, and credit? (2) Peace–can stronger judiciaries deter civil strife and everyday crime? (3) Governance–how do courts shape trust and curb corruption? Reviewing 150+ causal studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, we find cutting case duration by one year lifts manufacturing productivity 3%–5%, specialized debt tribunals slash loan delinquency 25%–30%, and post‐conflict mediation programs reduce land‐related violence almost 30%. Faster, impartial adjudication also deepens credit markets and lowers borrowing costs, yet gains often bypass small borrowers and fragile states where customary justice dominates. We outline four research frontiers: disentangling speed, quality, and access; mapping formal–customary linkages; exploiting court big‐data to measure bias and legal uncertainty; and testing how regime type conditions judicial impact. Addressing these gaps can turn judicial reform into a high‐return, inclusive development strategy.