UC San Diego Researchers Show That Paying Enforcers to Punish Makes People Less Likely to Cooperate With Others, Which Has Major Implications for Law-Enforcement Quotas, Asset Forfeiture, and For-Profit Prisons

August 28, 2025 – Christine Clark – [email protected] –

Why do people cooperate with each other and follow society’s

rules — and what happens when those who enforce the rules stand to profit from doing so? A new

study from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management researchers tackles this fundamental question and reveals that cooperation breaks down when punishment becomes profitable…

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