Crime and Punishment under Evidentiary Uncertainty: Laboratory Evidence

Florian Baumann and Tim Friehe

Supreme Court Economic Review, 2017, vol. 25, issue 1, 65 - 104

Abstract: We use experimental data to investigate how potential violators and third-party punishers choose at different levels of evidentiary uncertainty. Between subjects, we compare decision making for various harm and sanction levels. We find that choices depend on the extent of evidentiary uncertainty. In our data, individual punishment behavior is significantly influenced by neither the level of harm nor the severity of the sanction. This is aligned with legal requirements regarding the standard of proof but does not confirm predictions from economic models. Potential violators’ choices depend on the level of harm, but higher sanctions do not deter the norm violation.

Date: 2017
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