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How do Taxpayers Respond to Public Disclosure and Social Recognition Programs? Evidence from Pakistan

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  • Joel Slemrod
  • Obeid Ur Rehman
  • Mazhar Waseem
  • Mazhar Waseem

Abstract

We examine two Pakistani programs to see if the public disclosure of tax information and social recognition of top taxpayers promote tax compliance. Pakistan began revealing income tax paid by every taxpayer in the country from 2012. Simultaneously, another program began recognizing and rewarding the top 100 tax paying corporations, partnerships, self-employed individuals, and wage-earners. We find that both programs induced strong compliance responses. The public disclosure caused on average a 9 log-points increase in the tax paid by individuals exposed to the program. The increase was even larger for the social recognition program, around 17 log-points. Our results suggest that such programs can be important policy levers to mobilize resources, especially in weak-enforcement-capacity economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Joel Slemrod & Obeid Ur Rehman & Mazhar Waseem & Mazhar Waseem, 2020. "How do Taxpayers Respond to Public Disclosure and Social Recognition Programs? Evidence from Pakistan," CESifo Working Paper Series 8152, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8152
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    4. Etchart-Vincent, Nathalie & Ratto, Marisa & Taugourdeau, Emmanuelle, 2026. "Why should I comply with taxes if others don’t?: Social information and behavioral convergence: An experimental study," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
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    6. Müller, Raphael & Spengel, Christoph & Vay, Heiko, 2020. "On the determinants and effects of corporate tax transparency: Review of an emerging literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-063, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Shah, Jawad, 2026. "Using computerized information to enforce VAT: Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    8. Bittschi, Benjamin & Dwenger, Nadja & Rincke, Johannes, 2021. "Water the flowers you want to grow? Evidence on private recognition and donor loyalty," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    9. Deininger, Klaus W. & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Bukin, Eduard & Martyn, Andrii, 2024. "Reforming Land Valuation and Taxation in Ukraine : A Path towards greater Sustainability Fairness, and Transparency," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10998, The World Bank.
    10. Mazhar Waseem, 2020. "Does Cutting the Tax Rate to Zero Induce Behavior Different from Other Tax Cuts? Evidence from Pakistan," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(3), pages 426-441, July.
    11. Carina Neisser & Nils Wehrhöfer, 2025. "Unintended Effects of Transparency: The Consequences of Income Disclosure by Politicians," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 354, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
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    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

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