Prohibitions on Punishments in Private Contracts
In most contemporary economies loan contracts cannot mandate imprison- ment or other non-pecuniary punishments for defaulting debtors. A possible rationale for contracting restrictions of this type is that imprisonment imposes negative externalities on individuals not party to the original loan contract. We explore the ability of such externalities to account for the legal restriction that private contracts cannot threaten non-pecuniary punishments. We consider both the “classical” case in which the negative externality is imposed on future trading partners, and the “behavioral” case in which the negative externality is imposed on an agent’s future self.
Year of publication: |
2006-11
|
---|---|
Authors: | Bond, Philip ; Newman, Andrew F. |
Institutions: | Department of Economics, Boston University |
Saved in:
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Legros, Patrick, (2004)
-
Smithian Growth through Creative Organization
Legros, Patrick, (2006)
-
Competitive Prices and Organizational Choices
Legros, Patrick, (2008)
- More ...