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Norm-signalling punishment

Author

Listed:
  • Daniele Nosenzo

    (Aarhus Univeristy, Denmark)

  • Erte Xiao

    (Department of Economics, Monash University)

  • Nina Xue

    (Department of Economics, Monash University)

Abstract

The literature on punishment and prosocial behavior has presented conflicting findings. In some settings, punishment crowds out prosocial behavior and backfires; in others, however, it promotes prosociality. We examine whether the punisher’s motives can help reconcile these results through a novel experiment in which the agent’s outcomes are identical in two environments, but in one punishment is self-serving (i.e., potentially benefits the punisher) while in the other it is other-regarding (i.e., potentially benefits a third party). We find that self-regarding punishment reduces the social stigma of selfish behavior, while other-regarding punishment does not. As a result, self-serving punishment is less effective at encouraging compliance and is more likely to backfire compared to other-regarding punishment. Our findings have implications for the design of punishment mechanisms and highlight the importance of the punisher’s motives in the norm-signalling function of punishment.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniele Nosenzo & Erte Xiao & Nina Xue, 2022. "Norm-signalling punishment," Monash Economics Working Papers 2022-26, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:mos:moswps:2022-26
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    punishment; norms; stigma; crowd out; experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact

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