Civil litigation rates in the European and Latin American countries examined in this article rose during the 1970s. It is unlikely, however, that this growth was primarily caused by socioeconomic development. First, per capita economic growth slowed during the 1970s compared to the earlier postwar period. Second, litigation rates between 1945 and 1970 were either flat or cyclical, reacting to forces independent of socioeconomic development. Third, rates of filing civil cases in the 1980s seem again to be falling. By investigating regional litigation rates within a country, nevertheless, it appears that the level of socioeconomic development does influence the total number of disputes generated or the citizenry's propensity to use formal courts. Further progress in understanding the multiple factors affecting civil litigation trends will depend on a sophisticated local environment model and further intracountry studies.

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