CQH Working Paper No.0009 | Posted:  2026-10-15

The Intellectual Origin of Legal Institution and Modern Banking

Authors

  • Ting Chen
  • Chong Liu
  • Shuang Shi
  • Yuling Zhu

Keywords:

Court, Legal Talents, Bank, Modern China

Abstract

We exploit differences in the hometowns of graduates from China's first specialized legal university to estimate the effect of modern court establishment on local financial development. In response to the urgent need for legal modernization, Chaoyang University was founded in 1912 and graduated more than 3,000 legal professionals. Counties with varying numbers of Chaoyang graduates had different opportunities to access specialized knowledge-legal professionalism-and consequently varied prospects for establishing modern courts. The establishment of county-level courts has a significant positive impact on the development of local banking industries, which are heavily dependent on the local legal environment. This effect is achieved through the facilitation of standardized and specialized legal services and the strengthening of trust in modern financial institutions.

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Author Biographies

  • Ting Chen

    Associate Professor
    Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, Hong Kong Baptist University

  • Chong Liu

    Professor

    School of Economics, Peking University

  • Shuang Shi

    Assistant Professor

    School of Economics, Nankai University

  • Yuling Zhu

    Assistant Researcher

    School of Public Economics & Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

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    How to Cite

    Chen, T., Liu, C., Shi, S., & Zhu, Y. (2026). The Intellectual Origin of Legal Institution and Modern Banking. In CQH Working Paper Series. https://aal.hku.hk/index.php/cqh/preprint/view/17