The rule of law index: Is it really impartial? A twofold multivariate I-distance approach

Abstract

The indicator-based scientific research has recently become a valuable source of information for policymakers, scholars and eventually, civil society. Many socioeconomic spheres are evaluated using composite indicators, whereas governance has not been left behind. Among several assessment measurements oriented on the rule of law and law enforcement, the Rule of Law Index devised by the World Justice Program stands out. Namely, it is a comprehensive and methodologically consistent index which measures the extent to which the countries follow the principles of the rule of law. However, the controversial question of the justification of its equal weighting scheme emerges. The presented study addresses this issue by applying the twofold I-distance approach to propose unbiased weights and an in-depth analysis of the index dynamics. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to scrutinize the Rule of Law Index and to shed light on its methodology. Furthermore, the proposed approach can serve as a foundation for future research on weighting schemes, which are enveloped with subjectivity.