Prof. Dr. Franziska Weber, LL.M.
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Institute of law and economics/University of Hamburg, Rotterdam Institute of Law and Economics/Erasmus University Rotterdam
Anschrift
Kontakt
Titel des Forschungsprojektes:
Inducing sustainable behaviour - the effect of the sanction's shape
Mentor:
Prof. Dr. Gerd Mühlheußer
Hintergrund des Projekts:
An important tool for policy makers to induce compliance with set sustainability goals is to ensure that sanctions are designed so that they effectively deter non-compliance, hence induce law-abiding behaviour. From a standard rational point of view, primarily the size of the sanction should matter and the likelihood by which one will be detected and convicted. Behavioural research, however, tells us that people are not necessarily as calculative as the rational model implies. By variations in the shape rather than the size or probability of a sanction, sanctions can take different forms and become more or less effective depending on the way they are introduced. By expanding the findings of rational choice theory, this experimental research project will uncover the behavioural aspects of people’s reactions to different sanctioning mechanisms (direct victim compensation, fine to the government, contribution to NGO or charity etc.).
Zielsetzung des Projekts:
This research project seeks to enhance behavioural insights on compliant behaviour. Despite the multitude of forms that sanctions can take, little is known about their relative effectiveness. Is a fine to the government as effective in deterring non-compliance as an equal amount of compensation paid to affected stakeholders, such as neighbours, local businesses or NGO's? This research aims to improve our knowledge on legal compliance induced by different types of sanctions. This, in turn, allows us to design rules and sanction systems that further sustainability goals in a more effective and efficient way. Indeed, particularly in the arena of sustainability, policy makers often face budgetary constraints in installing sanctioning systems with costly, yet high detection probabilities. Knowing how the effectiveness of sanctions can be increased through non-costly interventions can be an important insight.
Vorgehen:
The research question shall be tested by ways of a lab experiment, which allows to evaluate different sanction treatments against each other in a more controlled environment. Conducting a lab experiment allows to compare how compliance is affected by different possible sanctions, such as compensation to direct victims, remote stakeholders or charities, or as fines to an external entity (cf. government) In addition, it will be explored if a field experiment may be feasible in addition. In a more ecologically valid environment sustainable behavior could be directly observed (e.g. littering, water/electricity use).