Liberal Professionals or Gatekeepers of Registries: Spatial Competition and Geographic Coverage of Latin Notaries in Cities

Abstract The duality of liberal professional and gatekeeper of public registries is a common characteristic of the Latin notary in the 91 countries that use this legal figure. However, the optimal level of regulation to decrease restrictions without affecting the quality of service has yet to be explored. One of the little-studied factors in the literature is the geographic distribution of notaries in cities and the impact of this on service coverage. We thus analyzed the geographic location of Notaries Public and other gatekeepers in Mexico City with geographic information systems and point pattern analysis. We found that Notaries Public are spatially concentrated in areas around the financial center of the city, and far from highly populated areas, where their operating costs may not be covered. The clustering identified may be explained by the tendency for Notaries Public to establish themselves near their competitors to attract clients from neighboring notaries. As such, the law should consider public financing or the use of technological tools to ensure coverage of notarial services and reduce geographical disparities in low-income areas.