Abstract
The punishment of offenders can be based on different motives. Using experimental data, we study whether enforcers motivated by retribution and deterrence punish offenders differently than enforcers using punishment only for retributive goals. In contrast to previous findings, the deterrence motive has significant effects in our data. The possibility of deterrence increases the average sanction and the punishment probability by 50% and 40%, respectively. Exploring how deterrent and retributive punishment change when potential offenders learn the injunctive social norm before their violation decision, we find that the punishment probability increases only in the treatment that allows for retribution and deterrence motives. This suggests that the interaction of punishment and norms may depend on the punishment motive.
The seminar is organized in collaboration with the Department of Sociology and Business Law.