This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Russian Attitudes Toward Paying Taxes – Before, During, and After the Transition

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
James Alm
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez
Benno Torgler

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper examines citizens’ attitudes toward paying taxes – what is sometimes termed their “tax morale”, or the intrinsic motivation to pay taxes – focusing on the experience of individuals in the Russian Federation. A unique aspect of our analysis is our ability to study tax morale before (1991), during (1995), and shortly after (1999) the transition of the Russian economy from a centrally planned economy to one based on market reliance. Our empirical analysis uses data from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey. The results show decay in tax morale in the first four years of the transition from 1991 to 1995, and a small recovery in 1999. These results are consistent with the relevance of social norms in tax compliance, where the widespread perception of tax evasion and of a corrupt and inefficient state led initially to a decline of tax morale. However, the results also suggest that the restoration of a higher level of trust in the state, after some progress in the transition to a market economy, positively influenced tax morale. Using disaggregated data for Russian regions, we also find significant regional differences in tax morale, reflecting the degree of trust different regions have toward Moscow’s institutions and policies.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.crema-research.ch/papers/2005-27.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: Full Text
Download Restriction: no
File URL: http://www.crema-research.ch/abstracts/2005-27.htm
File Format: text/html
File Function: Abstract
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA) in its series CREMA Working Paper Series with number 2005-27.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Sep 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cra:wpaper:2005-27

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Gellerstrasse 24, 4052 Basel
Email:
Web page: http://www.crema-research.ch
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Anna-Lea Werlen).

Related research
Keywords: tax morale; tax compliance; social norms; transition countries;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion
K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
P35 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Public Finance

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Bruno Frey & Lars Feld, 2002. "Deterrence and Morale in Taxation: An Empirical Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  2. Schneider, Friedrich & Klinglmair, Robert, 2004. "Shadow Economies around the World: What Do We Know?," IZA Discussion Papers 1043, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Bahl, Roy W. & Wallich, Christine, 1992. "Intergovernmental fiscal relations in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 863, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2002. "Asymmetric Federalism in Russia: Cure or Poison?," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0304, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
  5. Stanley Fischer & Ratna Sahay, 2000. "The Transition Economies After Ten Years," IMF Working Papers 00/30, International Monetary Fund.
  6. Bruno S. Frey & Benno Torgler, 2004. "Taxation and Conditional Cooperation," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-20, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
  7. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio LopezdeSilanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2000. "The Regulation of Entry," NBER Working Papers 7892, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. J. Stiglitz, . "Whither Reform? Ten Years of the Transition," VOPROSY ECONOMIKI, N.P. Redaktsiya zhurnala "Voprosy Economiki".
  9. Benno Torgler, 2002. "Does Culture Matter? Tax Morale in East-West-German Comparison," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 59(4), pages 504-, December.
  10. James Alm & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Benno Torgler, 2005. "Russian Attitudes Toward Paying Taxes – Before, During, and After the Transition," CREMA Working Paper Series 2005-27, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Ronald G. Cummings & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Michael McKee & Benno Torgler, 2004. "Effects of culture on tax compliance: A cross check of experimental and survey evidence," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0403, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Polishchuk, Leonid, 1996. "Russian Federalism: Economic Reform and Political Behavior," Working Papers 972, California Institute of Technology, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences. [Downloadable!]
  13. Torgler, Benno, 2002. " Speaking to Theorists and Searching for Facts: Tax Morale and Tax Compliance in Experiments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 16(5), pages 657-83, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Stanley Fischer & Ratna Sahay, 2000. "The Transition Economies After Ten Years," NBER Working Papers 7664, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Levin, Mark & Satarov, Georgy, 2000. "Corruption and institutions in Russia," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 113-132, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Knack, Stephen & Keefer, Philip, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-88, November.
  17. Kornai, Janos, 1990. "The Affinity between Ownership Forms and Coordination Mechanisms: The Common Experience of Reform in Socialist Countries," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 131-47, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Lars Feld & Bruno Frey, 2000. "Trust Breeds Trust: How Taxpayers are Treated," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Benno Torgler, 2003. "The Importance of Faith: Tax Morale and Religiosity," CREMA Working Paper Series 2003-08, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  20. Alm, James & McClelland, Gary H & Schulze, William D, 1999. "Changing the Social Norm of Tax Compliance by Voting," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(2), pages 141-71.
  21. Olivier Blanchard & Andrei Shleifer, 2000. "Federalism With and Without Political Centralization. China versus Russia," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1889, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    Other versions:
  22. Benno Torgler, 2005. "Tax morale in Latin America," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 133-157, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Feld, Lars P & Tyran, Jean-Robert, 2002. "Tax Evasion and Voting: An Experimental Analysis," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(2), pages 197-222.
  24. Joel Slemrod, 2002. "Trust in Public Finance," NBER Working Papers 9187, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Benno Torgler & Maria A.Garcia-Valinas, 2006. "Participation in Environmental Organizations: An Empirical Analysis," CREMA Working Paper Series 2006-06, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Benno Torgler & Bruno S. Frey & Clevo Wilson, 2007. "Environmental and Pro-Social Norms: Evidence from 30 Countries," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 220, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Benno Torgler & Maria A. Garcia-Valinas & Alison Macintyre, 2008. "Justifiability of Littering: An Empirical Investigation," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 233, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, revised 17 Jun 2008. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Benno Torgler & María A. García Valiñas & Alison Macintyre, 2008. "Environmental Participation and Environmental Motivation," Working Papers 2008.95, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Benno Torgler & María A.García-Valiñas & Alison Macintyre, 2008. "Differences in Preferences Towards the Environment: The Impact of a Gender, Age and Parental Effect," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 227, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Benno Torgler & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2006. "Tax Morale: A Survey with a Special Focus on Switzerland," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 142(III), pages 395-425, September. [Downloadable!]
  7. Jorge Martinz-Vazquez & Benno Torgler, 2005. "The Evolution of Tax Morale in Modern Spain," CREMA Working Paper Series 2005-33, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Benno Torgler & Friedrich Schneider, 2007. "Shadow Economy, Tax Morale, Governance and Institutional Quality: A Panel Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 2563, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Benno Torgler & Friedrich Schneider, 2007. "The Impact of Tax Morale and Institutional Quality on the Shadow Economy," IZA Discussion Papers 2541, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Torgler, Benno & Demir, Ihsan C. & Macintyre, Alison & Schaffner, Markus, 2008. "Causes and Consequences of Tax Morale: An Empirical Investigation," Economic Analysis and Policy (EAP), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), School of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(2), pages 313-339, September. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Benno Torgler & Maria A. Garcia-Valiñas, 2006. "Participation in Environmental Organizations: Political Interest and State Capacity," CREMA Working Paper Series 2006-14, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
  12. Benno Torgler & James Alm & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2005. "Russian Attitudes Toward Paying Taxes – Before, During, and After the Transition," International Studies Program Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0518, International Studies Program, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Alm, James & Gomez, Juan Luis, 2008. "Social Capital and Tax Morale in Spain," Economic Analysis and Policy (EAP), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), School of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(1), pages 73-87, March. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? About 1000 archives contribute their bibliographic data to RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-1.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.