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Bad News From The Front And From Above: Bombing Raids, Military Fatalities And The Death Penalty In Nazi Germany

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  • Wayne Geerling
  • Gary Magee
  • Paul A. Raschky
  • Russell Smyth

Abstract

We examine how the decision‐making of political elites respond to an imminent external threat to the existence of the state in times of war. To do so, we exploit exogeneous variation in exposure to battle deaths and bombing raids to estimate the effect of variation in the intensity of war on the probability that individuals charged with treason and/or high treason in Nazi Germany received the death sentence. A doubling of the number of military fatalities as well as bombing raids in the same week in which a defendant was sentenced increased the likelihood of receiving the death penalty by about 10 percentage points. (JEL K14, N44)

Suggested Citation

  • Wayne Geerling & Gary Magee & Paul A. Raschky & Russell Smyth, 2020. "Bad News From The Front And From Above: Bombing Raids, Military Fatalities And The Death Penalty In Nazi Germany," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(3), pages 1450-1468, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:58:y:2020:i:3:p:1450-1468
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12876
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas Ferguson & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2008. "Betting on Hitler—The Value of Political Connections in Nazi Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(1), pages 101-137.
    2. Wayne Geerling & Gary Magee & Vinod Mishra & Russell Smyth, 2018. "Hitler's Judges: Ideological Commitment and the Death Penalty in Nazi Germany," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(614), pages 2414-2449, September.
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    5. Wayne Geerling & Gary Magee, 2017. "Quantifying Resistance," Studies in Economic History, Springer, number 978-981-10-6008-3, June.
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    7. Gartner, Scott Sigmund, 2008. "The Multiple Effects of Casualties on Public Support for War: An Experimental Approach," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 102(1), pages 95-106, February.
    8. Mustard, David B, 2001. "Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Sentencing: Evidence from the U.S. Federal Courts," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 285-314, April.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-

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