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dc.titleThe Plaintiff's Role in Enforcing a Court Ruling: Evidence from a Labor Court in Mexico
dc.contributor.authorKaplan, David S.
dc.contributor.authorSadka, Joyce
dc.contributor.orgunitLabor Markets Division
dc.coverageMexico
dc.date.available2011-08-26T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2011-07-01T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractWe analyze the outcomes of 332 cases from a labor court in Mexico in which a judge awarded money to a plaintiff who claimed to have been fired by a firm without cause. The judgments were enforced in only 40% of the cases. A plaintiff may try to enforce a judgment by petitioning the court to seize the firm's assets when the firm refuses to pay. Thirty eight percent of the enforced judgments required at least one seizure attempt. We estimate the parameters of post judgment games in which the worker does not know if a seizure attempt would ultimately succeed and show that these models explain the data well. We then simulate the effects of a policy that reduces worker costs of a seizure attempt. We find that this policy would increase the probability of enforcement, either by increasing the probability that the worker attempts an asset seizure or by inducing firms to pay voluntarily to avoid such seizure attempts. However, reducing worker costs of seizure attempts can only have a modest effect on enforcement probabilities because a high percentage of firms are able to avoid payment in spite of worker efforts to force collection.
dc.format.extent45
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0011223
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/The-Plaintiff-Role-in-Enforcing-a-Court-Ruling-Evidence-from-a-Labor-Court-in-Mexico.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.mediumAdobe PDF
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectLabor Policy
dc.subjectJustice Administration
dc.subjectWorkforce and Employment
dc.subjectSocial Policy and Protection
dc.subject.jelcodeJ65 - Unemployment Insurance • Severance Pay • Plant Closings
dc.subject.jelcodeK31 - Labor Law
dc.subject.jelcodeK41 - Litigation Process
dc.subject.keywordsLabor Policy;Labor Courts, Severance Payments, Enforcement of Labor Law
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberWorking Papers
idb.operationRG-K1205
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