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Encouraging Others: Punishment and Performance in the Royal Navy

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  • Voth, Hans-Joachim
  • Xu, Guo

Abstract

Can severe penalties †encourage the others†? Using the famous case of the British Admiral John Byng, executed for his failure to recapture French-held Menorca in 1757, we examine the incentive effects of judicial punishments. Men related to Byng performed markedly better after his unexpected death. We generalize this result using information from 963 court martials. Battle performance of captains related to a courtmartialed and convicted officer improved sharply thereafter. The loss of influential connections was key for incentive effects – officers with other important connections improved little after Byng’s execution or other severe sentences.

Suggested Citation

  • Voth, Hans-Joachim & Xu, Guo, 2020. "Encouraging Others: Punishment and Performance in the Royal Navy," CEPR Discussion Papers 14476, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14476
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Chen, Daniel L., 2016. "The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty? Evidence from British Commutations During World War I," TSE Working Papers 16-706, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Feb 2020.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bo, Shiyu & Liu, Cong & Zhou, Yan, 2023. "Military investment and the rise of industrial clusters: Evidence from China’s self-strengthening movement," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Principal agent problems; Punishment; Labor incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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