The market for lawyers in British Columbia

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dc.contributor.authorLittle, Christine Leighen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-14T21:06:12Z
dc.date.available2024-08-14T21:06:12Z
dc.date.copyright1989en_US
dc.date.issued1989
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Economics
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis analyses the dynamics of the market for lawyers in British Columbia from 1951 to 1983. Its specific objective is to empirically examine the hypothesis that there is an over supply of lawyers, which, because of potential negative externalities (a reduction in the quality of legal services), requires action to reduce the number of practicing lawyers or, at least, restrict the growth in the number of lawyers. Two alternative economic models, which appear consistent with cyclical swings in and growth of the number of lawyers in British Columbia are used to test the "over supply" hypothesis. The first model is based on "A Recursive "Cobweb" Model of the Market for New Lawyers", by R. Freeman, and the second is based on "The Determinants of the Demand for and Supply of Lawyers", by B.P. Pashigan. The recursive "cobweb" model seeks to examine whether an over or under supply of lawyers exists due to short term disequilibrium phenomena. This disequilibrium is said to result primarily from the four year lag between the decision to enter law school and the granting of a license to practice law. The model examines the market dynamics to determine whether the market adjusts to this lag without the necessity of controls on the number of new lawyers. The second model looks at the market for lawyers in terms of its adjustment to long-run equilibrium. It is the contention of this model that the market has been slow to adjust and the actual number of lawyers has never been equal to the estimated long-run equilibrium number. This adjustment of the market to long-run equilibrium should be considered to determine if more controls on an already heavily regulated industry are necessary. Both models were estimated for the period 1951 to 1983. The "cobweb" model was estimated using multiple regression analysis and ordinary least squares techniques. The results suggest that the market adjusts with a lag of approximately four years and that no controls on the number of entrants into law are necessary. The conclusion is that the market is self­-correcting and there is no need to interfere in the market. Interference would only increase the rents presently earned by lawyers. The non-linear nature of the long run equilibrium model leads to a maximum likelihood empirical model in which constraints are imposed on the regression coefficients. The results, when corrected for auto-correlation, were not satisfactory. The regression results were inconsistent with the theory, and the restrictions, imposed on the coefficients by the underlying theory, were rejected. Hence, the cobweb model appears a better explanation of the supply of lawyers and its subsequent policy conclusion stands.
dc.format.extent85 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/18703
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleThe market for lawyers in British Columbiaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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