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Silent citizens: political corruption and tax disclosure

Author

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  • Abhinav Khemka
  • Claudia Serra-Sala

Abstract

We investigate how political corruption affects citizens' willingness to disclose tax evasion. We conducted a survey experiment with 1,200 respondents in Bangalore, India, combining corruption vignettes and list experiments. Respondents were randomly presented with hypothetical candidates whose attributes varied along three dimensions: (a) alleged honesty versus corruption; (b) prioritization of infrastructure versus other public spending; and (c) political party affiliation.

Suggested Citation

  • Abhinav Khemka & Claudia Serra-Sala, 2025. "Silent citizens: political corruption and tax disclosure," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2025-114, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2025-114
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jahnke, Björn & Weisser, Reinhard A., 2019. "How does petty corruption affect tax morale in Sub-Saharan Africa?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    2. Hainmueller, Jens & Hopkins, Daniel J. & Yamamoto, Teppei, 2014. "Causal Inference in Conjoint Analysis: Understanding Multidimensional Choices via Stated Preference Experiments," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 1-30, January.
    3. Iraman, Endra & Ono, Yoshikuni & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2022. "Tax compliance and social desirability bias of taxpayers: experimental evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 92-109, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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