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Trust in Public Finance

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Author Info
Joel Slemrod

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Abstract

Using data on trust and trustworthiness from the 1990 wave of the World Values Survey, I first investigate a model of the extent of tax cheating and the size of government that recognizes the interdependence of the two. The results reveal that tax cheating is lower in countries that exhibit more (not-government-related) trustworthiness. However, holding that constant, tax cheating becomes more acceptable as government grows. All in all, there is some weak evidence that the strong positive cross-country correlation between the size of government and tax cheating masks the fact that big government induces tax cheating while, at the same time, tax cheating constrains big government. I then add to the structural model an equation determining the level of prosperity, allowing prosperity to depend, inter alia, on the level of government and on trust in others. I find some evidence that both prosperity and government involvement are higher in more trusting societies. Moreover, holding these measures of trust constant, the association of government size with prosperity is positive until a level of government spending somewhere between 31% and 38% of GDP, after which its marginal effect is negative. Thus, although a trusting citizenry allows larger government, the tax burden this entails erodes the rule obedience taxpayers exhibit toward government.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9187.

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Date of creation: Sep 2002
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9187

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H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
P10 - Economic Systems - - Capitalist Systems - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
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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 & 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:
  2. 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:
  3. Benno Torgler, 2004. "Tax Morale, Trust and Corruption: Empirical Evidence from Transition Countries," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-05, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, 2005. "Corruption in Tax Administration: Lessons from Institutional Reforms in Uganda," CMI Working Papers WP 2005: 10, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway. [Downloadable!]
  5. Benno Torgler & Christoph A. Schaltegger, 2005. "Trust and Fiscal Performance: A Panel Analysis with Swiss Data," Working Papers 2005.61, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, 2004. "To pay or not to pay? Citizens' views on taxation in local authorities in Tanzania," CMI Working Papers WP 2004: 8, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway. [Downloadable!]
  7. David Dreyer Lassen, 2003. "Ethnic Divisions and the Size of the Informal Sector," EPRU Working Paper Series 03-01, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  8. Lars P. Feld & Benno Torgler, 2007. "Tax Morale after the Reunification of Germany: Results from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. 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:
  10. Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, 2003. "What has trust got to do with it? Non-payment of service charges in local authorities in South Africa," CMI Working Papers WP 2003:12, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway. [Downloadable!]
  11. Benno Torgler, 2003. "Tax Morale in Transition Countries," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 357-381, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Joel Slemrod, 2004. "The Economics of Corporate Tax Selfishness," NBER Working Papers 10858, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Benno Torgler, 2004. "Tax Morale in Asian Countries," CREMA Working Paper Series 2004-02, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. 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:
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