Survey Evidence on Conditional Norm Enforcement

Traxler, Christian; Winter, Joachim K.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1337455

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Survey Evidence on Conditional Norm Enforcement

MPI Collective Goods Preprint, No. 2009/3

20 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2009

See all articles by Christian Traxler

Christian Traxler

Hertie School; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA); Deutsche Bundesbank - Research Department

Date Written: January 2009

Abstract

We discuss survey evidence on individuals' willingness to sanction norm violations - such as evading taxes, drunk driving, fare dodging, or skiving off work - by expressing disapproval or social exclusion. Our data suggest that people condition their sanctioning behavior on their belief about the frequency of norm violations. The more commonly a norm violation is believed to occur, the lower the individuals' inclination to punish it. Based on an instrumental variable approach, we demonstrate that this pattern reflects a causal relationship.

Keywords: Norm Enforcement, Sanctioning, Social Norms, Survey Evidence

JEL Classification: K42, Z13, D1

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Traxler, Christian and Winter, Joachim K., Survey Evidence on Conditional Norm Enforcement (January 2009). MPI Collective Goods Preprint, No. 2009/3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1337455 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1337455