从抵押看正式法律的作用

The Role of Mortgages:A Case for Formal Law

经济学家强调非正式合同机制在合同实施方面的作用,自动实施合同和使用"人质"来保障合同的实施就是例子。法律和发展学者认为正式法律在中国经济发展中并不起促进作用。笔者认为使用非正式合同机制来保障合同的实施是有限度的。抵押就是一个明显的例子。笔者用中国不断发展的包括抵押在内的正式财产权法律来解释正式法律制度对中国经济发展的贡献。

Economists argue for the importance of using informal contractual means to enforce contracts.The concept of self-enforcing contracts and the use of hostage to support exchange are such examples.Law and development scholars down play the role of formal law in China's economic development.Guanghua Yu argues in this article that there are limits in using informal means to enforce contracts.The case of mortgages is such an example.He further uses the case of China's developing formal property law covering mortgages to explain that,contrary to many others, formal legal institutions have made a positive contribution to China's economic development.