June 14 1907 Women in Norway win the right to vote.

International Review of Law and Economics

Volume 31, Issue 2, June 2011, Pages 103–115

Do laws affect attitudes? An assessment of the Norwegian prostitution law using longitudinal data

• Andreas Kotsadam^{a, b, c, , ,} ,
• Niklas Jakobsson^{a, b, c,}

doi:10.1016/j.irle.2011.03.001

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Abstract

The question of whether laws affect attitudes has inspired scholars across many disciplines, but empirical knowledge is sparse. Using longitudinal survey data from Norway and Sweden, collected before and after the implementation of a Norwegian law criminalizing the purchase of sexual services, we assess the short-run effects on attitudes using a difference-in-differences approach. In the general population, the law did not affect moral attitudes toward prostitution. However, in the Norwegian capital, where prostitution was more visible before the reform, the law made people more negative toward buying sex. This supports the claim that proximity and visibility are important factors for the internalization of legal norms.

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Highlights

► In the general population, the law criminalizing the purchase of sex did not affect moral attitudes toward prostitution. ► However, in the Norwegian capital, where prostitution was more visible before the reform, the law made people more negative toward buying sex. ► This supports the claim that proximity and visibility are important factors for the internalization of legal norms.

JEL classification

• K14;
• K40

Keywords

• Attitudes;
• Norms;
• Law;
• Prostitution

Corresponding author at: Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Box 640, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.