Equal before the (expressive power of) law?Daniele Nosenzo (Aarhus University)
17 December 2020
We welcome Daniele Nosenzo (Aarhus University) who will present his project
Equal before the (expressive power of) law?
Abstract: Building on findings showing that laws exert a causal effect on social norms, this paper investigates whether this “expressive power of law” differs by gender or race. Using an incentivized vignette experiment, we directly measure social norms relating to actions subject to legal thresholds (e.g., driving above/below speed limit; possession of marijuana above/below legal limit; etc.) and vary the gender and race of the person engaging in the action or of the person affected by the action. Results from an online sample of around 4000 subjects confirm that laws causally influence social norms. However, we find little evidence of a differential effect of the law on norms across gender or race, suggesting that gender and race biases in the legal system are driven by other mechanisms than differences in the expressive power of law.
Place: Zoom (please contact leonie.gerhards@uni-hamburg.de to get the login information)
Time: 17:15 - 18:45
We invite everyone interested to attend!