I would think that the general lack of information about the probability and severity (including duration) of enforcement would impair the ability of people to choose an efficient level of lawbreaking, to put it in that light. Also, more information about who to harm when committing a crime is necessary as the punishment costs, as it were, may vary greatly from bloodline to bloodline of the victim. At 10:11 AM 9/25/2003 -0400, you wrote:
A standard story is that formal law is a great improvement over the informal institution of blood feuds, because such feuds tend to go on too long and get too disconnected from whatever harms were originally done. Is there any theoretical treatment of this, explaining or refuting such an argument?
Robin Hanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hanson.gmu.edu Assistant Professor of Economics, George Mason University MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030-4444 703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
