Spatial Spillover Effects in Civil Litigation: Evidence from Chinese Provinces

Abstract

There is a rich literature that utilizes state, province, and other subregional data to evaluate the causes and effects of civil litigation. Yet, issues of spatial dependence are often neglected in this context. In the current study, we argue that civil litigation may be subject to spatial spillovers, in which litigation in one region influences litigation in nearby regions. We then test for spatial effects using six years (2011–2016) of province-level data from China. Our results provide strong evidence of jurisdiction-level spillovers, even after controlling for spatially correlated regressors and shocks. Additionally, we find that ignoring spatial processes can lead to a systematic underestimation of the influence of civil litigation determinants.