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Laws and Authority

Author

Listed:
  • George J. Mailath

    (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

  • Stephen Morris

    (Department of Economics, Princeton University)

  • Andrew Postlewaite

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

A law prohibiting a particular behavior does not directly change the payoff to an individual should he engage in the prohibited behavior. Rather, any change in the individual’s payoff, should he engage in the prohibited behavior, is a consequence of changes in other peoples’ behavior. If laws do not directly change payoffs, they are “cheap talk,†and can only affect behavior because people have coordinated beliefs about the effects of the law. Beginning from this point of view, we provide definitions of authority in a variety of problems, and investigate how and when individuals can have, gain, and lose authority.

Suggested Citation

  • George J. Mailath & Stephen Morris & Andrew Postlewaite, 2016. "Laws and Authority," PIER Working Paper Archive 16-018, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 08 Nov 2016.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:16-018
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    File URL: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/filevault/SSRN%2016_018.pdf
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    Other versions of this item:

    • George J. Mailath & Stephen Morris & Andrew Postlewaite, 2016. "Laws and Authority," Working Papers 082_2016, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Econometric Research Program..

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Postlewaite, 2007. "Courts of Law and Unforeseen Contingencies," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 662-684, October.
    2. Lecce, Giampaolo & Ogliari, Laura, 2019. "Institutional Transplant and Cultural Proximity: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Prussia," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(4), pages 1060-1093, December.
    3. Mariano Tommasi, 2006. "The Institutional Foundations of Public Policy," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 1-36.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)

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