The Decay of Norms and the Production of Social Order: Conceptual and Empirical Models

Authors

Franklin G. Mixon Jr., University of Southern MississippiFollow
Jared S. Loftus, University of Southern Mississippi
Windy S. Keenel, University of North Carolina

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-10-2004

Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

Abstract

This note explores the decay of social norms using a model of the production of social order in the context of 'rules' employed by cities/municipalities to 'govern' activities during Halloween. The empirical results suggest that population homogeneity, the upper class' scope for 'purchasing' norm conformity from middle and lower classes, the abundance of social capital and the cohesiveness of family units are all important determinants of the likelihood that a city or locale will employ formal order-producing mechanisms during the Halloween period. The results are supportive of the seminal work on norms by Becker (1996) and others.

Publication Title

Applied Economics Letters

Volume

11

Issue

12

First Page

725

Last Page

730

Recommended Citation

Mixon, F. G., Loftus, J. S., Keenel, W. S. (2004). The Decay of Norms and the Production of Social Order: Conceptual and Empirical Models. Applied Economics Letters, 11(12), 725-730.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/2993