American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Law and Norms: Empirical Evidence
American Economic Review
vol. 113,
no. 5, May 2023
(pp. 1255–93)
Abstract
A large theoretical literature argues laws exert a causal effect on norms, but empirical evidence remains scant. Using a novel identification strategy, we provide a compelling empirical test of this proposition. We use incentivized vignette experiments to directly measure social norms relating to actions subject to legal thresholds. Our large-scale experiments (n = 7,000) run in the United Kingdom, United States, and China show that laws can causally influence social norms. Results are robust across different samples and methods of measuring norms, and are consistent with a model of social image concerns where individuals care about the inferences others make about their underlying prosociality.Citation
Lane, Tom, Daniele Nosenzo, and Silvia Sonderegger. 2023. "Law and Norms: Empirical Evidence." American Economic Review, 113 (5): 1255–93. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20210970Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C91 Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual
- C92 Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Group Behavior
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
- K00 Law and Economics: General
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
- P37 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Legal Institutions; Illegal Behavior