Deterrence of Wrongdoing in Ancient Law

Ancient laws addressed all types of wrongdoing with a single set of remedies that over time pursued a changing mix of retaliat ory, punitive and compensatory objectives. In this paper, we consider the historical transition from retaliatory to punitive justice, and the subsequent transition from punit ive to compensatory justice. This paper shows how the optimal level of enforcement varies under the three corrective regimes. Crimes that create a larger net social loss require lower levels of enforcement under retaliatory regimes. The optimal level of enforcement is instead independent of the degree of inefficiency of the crime when p unitive and compensatory remedies are utilized. The paper provides sev