Legal Practice and Economic Adaption :

The practice of Common Law and Roman Law differ, even though both systems in theory permit what they don't prohibit. The Common Practice derived from Common Law in fact truly does tend to permit what it doesn't prohibit, while the Roman Practice derived from Roman Law tends to prohibit what it doesn't permit. Tracing the historical sources for the evolutionary divergence between current Roman Practice and its underlying Roman Law principles is a fascinating exercise (e.g., see Bell's (1) "Mexican Bureaucracy and the Question of Christ's Clothes), but this paper's law and economics perspective demands instead a narrow focus on how the differing Common and Roman legal practices effect their respective economies. Of particular interest are the effects of Common Practice and Roman Practice on economic innovation, economic evolution, and economic growth.