RT Journal Article
SR 00
ID 10.1038/s41562-023-01547-3
A1 Mehmood, Sultan
A1 Seror, Avner
A1 Chen, Daniel L.
T1 Ramadan fasting increases leniency in judges from Pakistan and India
JF Nature Human Behaviour
YR 2023
FD 2023-03-17
VO Vol. 7
SP 874
OP 880
AB We estimate the impact of the Ramadan fasting ritual on criminal sentencing decisions in Pakistan and India from half a century of daily data. We use random case assignment and exogenous variation in fasting intensity during Ramadan due to the rotating Islamic calendar and the geographical latitude of the district courts to document the large effects of Ramadan fasting on decision-making. Our sample comprises roughly a half million cases and 10,000 judges from Pakistan and India. Ritual intensity increases Muslim judges’ acquittal rates, lowers their appeal and reversal rates, and does not come at the cost of increased recidivism or heightened outgroup bias. Overall, our results indicate that the Ramadan fasting ritual followed by a billion Muslims worldwide induces more lenient decisions.
PB Springer Nature
SN 2397-3374
LK https://publications.ut-capitole.fr/id/eprint/47176/
UL http://tse-fr.eu/pub/127980