Topic: Gender Issues in the Court


Speaker: Chen Heng, Associate Professor, The University of Hong Kong


Time: September 19, 2024, 16:00

Venue: EMS 440


Abstract: This study analyzed approximately 6 million civil judgments in China from 2014 to 2018, reflecting issues of gender disparity among litigants. We studied the impact of the open trial reform on gender disparity by utilizing implementation differences across courts and over time. The open trial reform requires courts to live-stream legal proceedings to a central online platform. Using methods such as double difference and Bartik's instrumental variable, we found that as the intensity of live-streaming increased, the gender disparity in winning opportunities decreased. Further evidence indicates that these judicial outcomes changed due to changes in judges' behavior brought about by enhanced judicial transparency. Specifically, changes in the style of judgment writing and citation patterns indicate an increase in judicial deliberation workload, while greater recognition of factual statements by female plaintiffs from cross-gender groups indicates more equitable treatment for these groups. Our research results show that information technology shapes judges' behavior by enhancing judicial transparency, highlighting its broader potential to enhance public institution accountability.


Guest Bio: Chen Heng is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management, The University of Hong Kong, where he received his PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich in 2010. His research areas are macroeconomics and political economy. His research papers have been published in Journal of Economic Theory, Economic Journal, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, International Economic Review, and Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, among other journals. He also serves as the Director of the Master's Program at the School of Economics and Management.