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Sanction Enforcement among Third Parties:New Experimental Evidence from Two Societies

Author

Listed:
  • Kenju Kamei

    (Faculty of Economics, Keio University)

  • Smriti Sharma

    (Business School, Newcastle University)

  • Matthew J. Walker

    (Business School, Newcastle University)

Abstract

Sanction enforcement offers the potential to mitigate free riding on punishment among multiple third parties. This paper experimentally studies third-party enforcement of social norms in a prisoner�fs dilemma game with and without opportunities for higher-order punishment. Based on insights from the literature on cooperation, kinship and moral systems, we compare people�fs sanction enforcement across student subjects in two societies: India and the United Kingdom. The experiment results show that, in both societies, third parties�f first-order punishment is most severe for defectors and that a third party�fs failure to punish a defector invites higher-order punishment from their fellow third parties. These findings are consistent with a model of social preferences and literature from anthropology and theoretical biology. Further, third-party punishment is stronger in the UK than in India, consistent with the conjecture that people in a society with relatively looser ancestral kinship ties are more willing to engage in pro-social punishment. However, in contrast to the theory or conjecture, there is clear difference in the group size effects between the two research sites: whereas third parties free ride on others�f punitive acts in the UK, they punish more when in the presence of other third parties in India.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenju Kamei & Smriti Sharma & Matthew J. Walker, 2023. "Sanction Enforcement among Third Parties:New Experimental Evidence from Two Societies," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2023-010, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    • Handle: RePEc:keo:dpaper:2023-010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experiment; Third-party punishment; Higher-order; Cross-societal variation; Public Goods;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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