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Deterrent and Retributive Punishment: Evidence on Their Relative Importance and the Influence of Social Norms

Florian Baumann et al.

American Law and Economics Review2025https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahaf018article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Deterrence and retribution are among the most significant motives for punishing offenders. Using experimental data, we analyze whether enforcers in a deterrence-and-retribution regime punish offenders differently than enforcers in a retribution-only regime. In contrast to previous results, we find that the deterrence potential is a significant motive for punishment. The possibility of deterrence increases the average sanction by 50% and the probability that an enforcer will punish by 40%. Exploring how punishment changes when potential offenders learn the injunctive social norm regarding the offense before their violation decision, we find that the punishment probability increases only in the deterrence-and-retribution regime but not in the retribution-only one. The interaction of punishment and social norms depends on the punishment motive.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahaf018

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@article{florian2025,
  title        = {{Deterrent and Retributive Punishment: Evidence on Their Relative Importance and the Influence of Social Norms}},
  author       = {Florian Baumann et al.},
  journal      = {American Law and Economics Review},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahaf018},
}

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Deterrent and Retributive Punishment: Evidence on Their Relative Importance and the Influence of Social Norms

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.