Certainty of Punishment versus Severity of Punishment: An Experimental Investigation

Lana Friesen

Southern Economic Journal, 2012, vol. 79, issue 2, 399-421

Abstract: Compliance with laws and regulations depends on the expected penalty facing violators. The expected penalty depends on both the probability of punishment and the severity of the punishment if caught. A key question in the economics of crime literature is whether increasing the probability of punishment is a more effective deterrent than increasing the severity of punishment. This article uses laboratory experiments to investigate this issue and finds that increasing the severity of punishment is a more effective deterrent than an equivalent increase in the probability of punishment. This result contrasts with the findings of the empirical crime literature.

Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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https://doi.org/10.4284/0038-4038-2011.152

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Working Paper: Certainty of Punishment versus Severity of Punishment- An Experimental Investigation (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:soecon:v:79:y:2012:i:2:p:399-421

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