IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05577272.html

Laws and Norms

Author

Listed:
  • Roland Bénabou

    (Princeton University)

  • Jean Tirole

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse)

Abstract

We analyze how private decisions and optimal public policies are shaped by personal and societal preferences, material incentives, and social norms. We show how honor and stigma interact with incentives and derive optimal taxation. We then analyze the expressive role of law as embodying society's values and identify when it calls for a weakening or a strengthening of incentives. The law should be softened when it signals agents' general willingness to contribute to the public good and toughened when it signals social externalities. We also shed light on norms-based interventions, societies' resistance to economists' messages, and the avoidance of cruel and unusual punishments.

Suggested Citation

  • Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2026. "Laws and Norms," Post-Print hal-05577272, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05577272
    DOI: 10.1086/738343
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05577272v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-05577272v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/738343?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roberto Galbiati & Emeric Henry & Nicolas Jacquemet & Max Lobeck, 2021. "How laws affect the perception of norms: Empirical evidence from the lockdown," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Ian Ayres & Sophie Raseman & Alice Shih, 2013. "Evidence from Two Large Field Experiments that Peer Comparison Feedback Can Reduce Residential Energy Usage," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(5), pages 992-1022, October.
    3. Geoffrey Brennan & Michael Brooks, 2007. "Esteem, Norms of Participation and Public Goods Supply," Springer Books, in: Pio Baake & Rainald Borck (ed.), Public Economics and Public Choice, chapter 4, pages 63-80, Springer.
    4. Anastasia Danilov & Dirk Sliwka, 2017. "Can Contracts Signal Social Norms? Experimental Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(2), pages 459-476, February.
    5. Bernheim, B Douglas, 1994. "A Theory of Conformity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(5), pages 841-877, October.
    6. Chen, Daniel L., 2016. "The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty? Evidence from British Commutations During World War I," IAST Working Papers 16-50, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST).
    7. Roberto Galbiati & Emeric Henry & Nicolas Jacquemet & Max Lobeck, 2021. "Executive summary of "How laws affect the perception of norms: Empirical evidence from the lockdown"," Post-Print halshs-05314972, HAL.
    8. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2k2jnd64aa9g19nja481vjohq3 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Bar-Isaac Heski, 2012. "Transparency, Career Concerns, and Incentives for Acquiring Expertise," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Bohnet, Iris & Frey, Bruno S. & Huck, Steffen, 2001. "More Order with Less Law: On Contract Enforcement, Trust, and Crowding," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 95(1), pages 131-144, March.
    11. Brekke, Kjell Arne & Kverndokk, Snorre & Nyborg, Karine, 2003. "An economic model of moral motivation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(9-10), pages 1967-1983, September.
    12. Leonardo Bursztyn & Georgy Egorov & Stefano Fiorin, 2020. "From Extreme to Mainstream: The Erosion of Social Norms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(11), pages 3522-3548, November.
    13. Adriani, Fabrizio & Sonderegger, Silvia, 2019. "A theory of esteem based peer pressure," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 314-335.
    14. Patricia Funk, 2007. "Is There An Expressive Function of Law? An Empirical Analysis of Voting Laws with Symbolic Fines," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 9(1), pages 135-159.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2026. "Laws and Norms," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 134(2), pages 731-772.
    2. Tom Lane & Daniele Nosenzo & Silvia Sonderegger, 2023. "Law and Norms: Empirical Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(5), pages 1255-1293, May.
    3. Roberto Galbiati & Emeric Henry & Nicolas Jacquemet & Max Lobeck, 2021. "How laws affect the perception of norms: Empirical evidence from the lockdown," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-14, September.
    4. repec:pri:wwseco:dp230 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:osf:socarx:n934a_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. d'Adda, Giovanna & Dufwenberg, Martin & Passarelli, Francesco & Tabellini, Guido, 2020. "Social norms with private values: Theory and experiments," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 288-304.
    7. Eugen Dimant & Michele Gelfand & Anna Hochleitner & Silvia Sonderegger, 2025. "Strategic Behavior with Tight, Loose, and Polarized Norms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(3), pages 2245-2263, March.
    8. Adi Leibovitch & Doron Teichman, 2025. "Normative Ambiguity, Social Norms, and the Expressive Power of Law," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(4), pages 475-501, December.
    9. Bradley, Jake & Albornoz-Crespo, Facundo & Sonderegger, Silvia & Rodriguez, Jesus & Rustagi, Devesh, 2026. "Information Shocks, Attitudes toward Immigrants, and Hate Crime," CEPR Discussion Papers 21619, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    10. Gavrilets, Sergey & Tverskoi, Denis & Sánchez, Angel, 2023. "Modeling social norms: an integration of the norm-utility approach with beliefs dynamics," SocArXiv n934a, Center for Open Science.
    11. Tore Ellingsen & Erik Mohlin, 2026. "A Model of Social Duties," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 134(5), pages 1307-1346.
    12. Bartels, Lara & Kesternich, Martin, 2026. "Motivate the crowd or crowd them out? Experimental evidence on the impact of local government spending on the voluntary provision of a green public good," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    13. Sugiyama, Yuri, 2022. "Can Soft Law Improve the Welfare of Sexual Minorities? The Case of Same-sex Partnership Policy in Japan," CEI Working Paper Series 2022-06, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    14. Kirakozian, Ankinée & Chiappini, Raphaël & Arfaoui, Nabila, 2025. "Nudging employees for greener mobility—A field experiment," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    15. Fehr, Ernst & Falk, Armin, 2002. "Psychological foundations of incentives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 687-724, May.
    16. Hu, Xin & He, Liuyi & Liu, Junjun, 2022. "Status reinforcing: Unintended rating bias on online shopping platforms," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    17. Luise Goerges & Tom Lane & Daniele Nosenzo & Silvia Sonderegger, 2023. "Equal before the (expressive power of) law?," Economics Working Papers 2023-12, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    18. Dimant, Eugen, 2023. "Beyond average: A method for measuring the tightness, looseness, and polarization of social norms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    19. Huck, Steffen & Kübler, Dorothea & Weibull, Jörgen, 2001. "Social Norms and Optimal Incentives in Firms," Working Paper Series 565, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    20. Partha Dasgupta & Dale Southerton & Alistair Ulph & David Ulph, 2016. "Consumer Behaviour with Environmental and Social Externalities: Implications for Analysis and Policy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 65(1), pages 191-226, September.
    21. Esther Hauk & Javier Ortega, 2025. "Political correctness and elite prestige," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 37(2), pages 122-155, April.
    22. Alger, Ingela & Weibull, Jörgen W., 2016. "Morality: evolutionary foundations and policy implications," TSE Working Papers 16-702, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05577272. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.