Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Law and Economics pp 1–10Cite as

Protective Factors

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:

  • 51 Accesses

Definition

Protective factors are individual and/or environmental characteristics that reduce people’s vulnerability to adversities such as natural, health, or moral hazards.

Protective Factors in Law and Economics and Criminology

Conceptual Background

The concept of protective factors owes its existence to the attempt to explain the curious fact that some people experience positive outcomes in the face of highly adverse conditions. If some heavy smokers, for instance, manage to live in good health until their 90th birthdays and beyond, then it is plausible to assume that there is something – some kind of protective factor – that shielded them from contracting any of the diseases commonly associated with inhaling the toxic mixture of over 4,000 chemicals called cigarette smoke. Analogous phenomena of resiliencecan be found in relation to delinquent life trajectories. The quest to explain surprisingly positive and law-abiding life courses of people from dysfunctional families and...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Akerlof G, Kranton R (2010) Identity economics. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ayres I, Braithwaite J (1992) Responsive regulation: transcending the deregulation debate. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Braithwaite J (2002) Restorative justice and responsive regulation. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Braithwaite V (2009) Defiance in taxation and governance: resisting and dismissing authority in a democracy. Edward Elgar, Northampton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brehm JW (1966) A theory of psychological reactance. Academic, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey BS (1997) Not just for the money: an economic theory of motivation. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey BS, Jegen R (2001) Motivation crowding theory: a survey of empirical evidence. J Econ Surv 15:589–611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garoupa N (2003) Behavioral economic analysis of crime: a critical review. Eur J Law Econ 15:5–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gigerenzer G, Selten R (eds) (2001) Bounded rationality: the adaptive toolbox. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson MR, Hirschi T (1990) A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess H, Scheerer S (2004) Theorie der Kriminalität. In: Oberwittler D, Karstedt S (eds) Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie. Sonderheft 43. Soziologie der Kriminalität, Wiesbaden, pp 69–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschauer N, Bavorová M, Martino G (2012) An analytical framework for a behavioural analysis of non-compliance in food supply chains. Br Food J 114:1212–1227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi T (1969) Causes of delinquency. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz J (1988) Seductions of crime. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Korobkin RB, Ulen TS (2000) Law and behavioral science: removing the rationality assumption from law and economics. Calif Law Rev 88:1051–1144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lösel F, Bender D (2003) Resilience and protective factors. In: Farrington DP, Coid J (eds) Prevention of adult antisocial behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 130–204

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Luhmann N (2000) Vertrauen, 4th edn. Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Miron AM, Brehm JW (2006) Reactance theory: 40 years later. Z Sozialpsychol 37:9–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2005) Understanding institutional diversity. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Parisi F (2004) Positive, normative and functional schools in law and economics. Eur J Law Econ 18:259–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Picciotto S (2002) Introduction: reconceptualizing regulation in the era of globalisation. In: Picciotto S, Campbell D (eds) New directions in regulatory theory. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinstrup-Andersen P (2005) Ethics and economic policy for the food system. Am J Agric Econ 87:1097–1112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rees JV (1994) Hostages of each other: the transformation of nuclear safety since three Mile Island. Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rubinstein A (1991) Comments on the interpretation of game theory. Econometrica 59:909–924

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholz JT, Gray WB (1990) OSHA enforcement and workplace injuries: a behavioral approach to risk assessment. J Risk Uncertainty 3:283–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon HA (1957) Models of man: social and rational. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tittle CR (2000) Theoretical developments in criminology. Crim Justice 1:51–101

    Google Scholar 

Further Readings

  • Braithwaite J (2008) Regulatory capitalism: how it works, ideas for making it work better. Edward Elgar, Northampton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman JS (1987) Norms as social capital. In: Radnitzky G, Bernholz P (eds) Economic imperialism. The economic method applied outside the field of economics. Paragon House Publisher, New York, pp 133–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Englerth M (2010) Der beschränkt rationale Verbrecher: Behavioral Economics in der Kriminologie. LitVerlag, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas N, Baumert A, Schmitt M (2012) Justice sensitivity as a risk and protective factor in social conflicts. In: Kals E, Maes J (eds) Justice and conflicts: theoretical and empirical contributions. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 107–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Tittle CR (1995) Control balance. Towards a general theory of deviance. Westview Press, Boulder

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler TR (1990) Why people obey the law. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agribusiness Management, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Norbert Hirschauer

  2. Institute for Criminological Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Sebastian Scheerer

Authors
  1. Norbert Hirschauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sebastian Scheerer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Norbert Hirschauer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Dept DiGSPES, Univ del Piemonte Orientale Dept DiGSPES, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Hirschauer, N., Scheerer, S. (2021). Protective Factors. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_387-3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_387-3

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7883-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7883-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Protective Factors
    Published:
    28 July 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_387-3

  2. Protective Factors
    Published:
    24 December 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_387-2

  3. Original

    Protective Factors
    Published:
    29 September 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_387-1

Search

Navigation