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Tax Morale and Conditional Cooperation

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  • Frey, Bruno S.
  • Torgler, Benno

Abstract

Why so many people pay their taxes, even though fines and audit probability are low, is a central question in the tax compliance literature. Positing a homo economicus having a refined motivation structure sheds light on this puzzle. This paper provides empirical evidence for the relevance of conditional cooperation, using survey data from 30 West and East European countries. We find a high correlation between perceived tax evasion and tax morale. The results remain robust after exploiting endogeneity and conducting several robustness tests. We also observe a strong positive correlation between institutional quality and tax morale.

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  • Frey, Bruno S. & Torgler, Benno, 2006. "Tax Morale and Conditional Cooperation," Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics, Working Paper Series qt3rd3f982, Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:oplwec:qt3rd3f982
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    Cited by:

    1. Traxler, Christian, 2010. "Social norms and conditional cooperative taxpayers," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 89-103, March.
    2. Gloria Alarcón García & Arielle Beyaert & Laura de Pablos, 2012. "Fiscal Awareness: A Study of Female versus Male Attitudes Towards Tax Fraud in Spain," Chapters, in: Michael Pickhardt & Aloys Prinz (ed.), Tax Evasion and the Shadow Economy, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Gloria Alarcón García & José Daniel Buendía Azorín & María del Mar Sánchez Vega, 2016. "El rechazo al fraude fiscal en España: antes y después de la Gran crisis," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 218(3), pages 33-56, September.
    4. Zaklan, Georg & Lima, F.W.S. & Westerhoff, Frank, 2008. "Controlling tax evasion fluctuations," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 387(23), pages 5857-5861.
    5. 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.
    6. Aktaş Güzel, Sonnur & Özer, Gökhan & Özcan, Murat, 2019. "The effect of the variables of tax justice perception and trust in government on tax compliance: The case of Turkey," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 80-86.
    7. Savaş Çevik & Harun Yeniçeri, 2013. "The Relationship between Social Norms and Tax Compliance: The Moderating Role of the Effectiveness of Tax Administration," International Journal of Economic Sciences, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2013(3).
    8. Cãƒtãƒlina Cozmei, 2012. "Playing The Fiscal Lottery Game," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 6(1), pages 511-521, November.
    9. Hammar, Henrik & Jagers, Sverker C. & Nordblom, Katarina, 2009. "Perceived tax evasion and the importance of trust," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 238-245, March.

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