Interplay of income inequality, the surplus value ratio and market competition: The impact of the rule of law in international contexts

Interplay of income inequality, the surplus value ratio and market competition: The impact of the rule of law in international contexts | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Interplay of income inequality, the surplus value ratio and market competition: The impact of the rule of law in international contexts Yosuke Tomita This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7813589/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines how the rule of law influences surplus value rates, market competition and income inequality, using cross-sectional data from 45 countries averaged from 2007 to 2023. Based on institutional economics and the Régulation theory, this study hypothesises that stronger legal institutions curb pre-market inequality and boost competition. Using ordinary least squares and generalised method of moments estimations, this study finds that a robust rule of law significantly reduces surplus value rates and boosts competition. These institutional effects lower Gini indices and increase gross domestic product per capita. Additionally, robustness checks are conducted to confirm the stability of these results. The findings suggest that legal institutions are complementary an essential for competitive markets and equitable income distribution, challenging the assumed trade-off between equality and efficiency. Thus, stronger legal institutions can support redistributive policies and provide a dual pathway to achieve equity and economic performance. Income inequality surplus value ratio market competition rule of law economic productivity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7813589","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":534418641,"identity":"e1fe1fd1-d2db-4b3e-b594-a51d5a14aa9c","order_by":0,"name":"Yosuke 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