Paying enforcers to punish reduces cooperation
Paying enforcers to punish reduces cooperation, a study finds.
Why it matters
- Shows how profit-driven punishment undermines cooperation.
- Implications for criminal justice policies like for-profit prisons and quota-based policing.
By the numbers
- Study involved thousands of participants.
- Used real monetary incentives to simulate real-world stakes.
The big picture
- Profitable punishment reduces trust in enforcers.
- Suggests need for structural reforms in criminal justice to rebuild trust and cooperation.
What they're saying
- Commenters relate findings to real-world policing and quotas.
- Some see it as a political feature, not a bug.
Caveats
- Study based on online experiments; real-world applicability may vary.
What’s next
- Structural reforms to remove profit motives from punishment.