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Salience of Law Enforcement: A Field Experiment
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Salience of Law Enforcement: A Field Experiment

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  • Robert Dur
  • Ben Vollaard

Abstract

We conduct a field experiment to examine whether the deterrent effect of law enforcement can be strengthened by making law enforcement activities more salient. Our focus is on illegal disposal of household garbage in residential areas. At a random subset of 56 locations in a city in the Netherlands, law enforcement officers supplemented their regular enforcement activities by the practice of putting bright warning labels on illegally disposed garbage bags saying that the item was “Found by law enforcement; fine minimally 90 euros”. We find evidence for a substantial reduction in illegal disposal of garbage as a result of the treatment at locations with garbage disposal containers, but not at locations with glass/paper disposal containers. Overall, the estimated treatment effect is negative, but imprecisely estimated.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Dur & Ben Vollaard, 2017. "Salience of Law Enforcement: A Field Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 6499, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6499
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wadehra, Shivani & Nie, Zihan & Alpizar, Francisco, 2024. "Disentangling the chicken or egg causality dilemma of household waste sorting and segregated waste collection: A randomized controlled trial in India," EfD Discussion Paper 24-8, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    2. Marcelo Bergolo & Rodrigo Ceni & Guillermo Cruces & Matias Giaccobasso & Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2023. "Tax Audits as Scarecrows: Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 110-153, February.
    3. Omar Al-Ubaydli & Faith Fatchen & John List, 2024. "Using Field Experiments to Understand the Impact of Institutions on Economic Growth," Natural Field Experiments 00787, The Field Experiments Website.
    4. Toma, Mattie & Bell, Elizabeth, 2024. "Understanding and increasing policymakers’ sensitivity to program impact," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    5. Buechel, Berno & Feess, Eberhard & Muehlheusser, Gerd, 2020. "Optimal law enforcement with sophisticated and naïve offenders," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 836-857.
    6. Troisi, Roberta, 2022. "Illegal land use by Italian firms: An empirical analysis through the lens of isomorphism," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    7. Libor Dušek & Nicolas Pardo & Christian Traxler, 2022. "Salience and Timely Compliance: Evidence from Speeding Tickets," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 426-449, March.
    8. Mungan, Murat C., 2019. "Salience and the severity versus the certainty of punishment," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 95-100.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    law enforcement; deterrence; perception; salience; disorder;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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