Trust and Taxpaying: Testing the Heuristic Approach to Collective Action

Scholz, John T.; Lubell, Mark

doi:10.2307/2991764

Cited by 567 publications

(325 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…(2) Taxes as a policy tool depend on cooperation in the sense that people actually pay their taxes. This cooperation is based on interpersonal trust [65,80]. To measure interpersonal trust, we use the question, "Generally, to what extent do you feel that people can be trusted?"…”

Section: Data and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes

2013

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Abstract:In this paper we are concerned with what explains public acceptance and support of environmental taxes. We examine findings in environmental psychology emphasizing that people's (environmental) value-orientation is the dominant driver determining individuals' support for pro-environmental policy instruments. We introduce a complementary model, mainly drawing upon findings in political science, suggesting that people's support for policy instruments is dependent on their level of political trust and their trust in other citizens. More specifically, we analyze whether political trust and interpersonal trust affect individuals' support for an increased carbon dioxide tax in Sweden, while checking their value orientation, self-interest, and various socio-economic values. We make use of survey data obtained from a mail questionnaire sent out to a random sample of 3,000 individuals in 2009. We find that apart from people's values, beliefs, and norms, both political trust and interpersonal trust have significant effects on people's attitudes toward an increased tax on carbon dioxide.

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Section: Data and Measurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes

2013

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“…Empirically, the positive effects of social trust have been substantiated in a number of studies. At the individual-level it has been shown that social trust promotes volunteering, donations to charity and common interest organizations (Sønderskov 2011a;Uslaner 2002), tax payment (Scholz and Lubell 1998), recycling (Sønderskov 2011b), and contributions to the provision of public goods in general (Gächter et al 2004;Thöni et al 2012). Moreover, studies at the aggregate level-across nations or subnational units-show, for example, that societies inhabited by more trustful citizens, experience higher levels of economic growth (Bjørnskov 2009;Knack and Keefer 1997), more effective democratic government (Knack 2002;Tavits 2006), and less dishonest behavior (Neville 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trusting the State, Trusting Each Other? The Effect of Institutional Trust on Social Trust

2015

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Trust in state institutions is a prominent explanation of social trust. However, previous-mainly cross-sectional-analyses provide limited causal evidence regarding the relationship between institutional trust and social trust and it is thus essentially unknown whether an observed relationship reflects reverse causality (social trust forming institutional trust), or both forms of trust reflecting deep-seated dispositions (common confounding). Against the backdrop of the shortcomings of previous cross-sectional analyses, this paper utilizes two Danish panel surveys containing measures of both types of trust for the same individuals surveyed at multiple points in time over a long time-span (up to 18 years) to address the potentially reverse and/or spurious relationship. Using individual fixed effects and cross-lagged panel models, the results provide strong evidence of trust in state institutions exercising a causal impact on social trust, whereas the evidence for a reverse relationship is limited.

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“…For instance, the degree of trust is found to play a key role when tax systems are considered. The greater the level of generalized trust in others, the more likely it is that people will pay tax (Scholz and Lubell, 1998). Trust in institutional conditions such as government and politics make a substantial contribution to establish tax morale and deter tax evasion (Scholz and Pinney, 1995;Torgler, 2003;Hammar et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trust in government and its effect on preferences for income redistribution and perceived tax burden

Yamamura

2013

Econ Gov

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This paper explores how a trust in government shared by neighbors is associated with individual preferences for income redistribution and individual perceptions regarding income tax burden. Three measures for trust in government are used:"trust in ministries and government agencies", "trust in diet members", and "trust in members of municipal councils". After controlling for individual characteristics, the key findings are: (1) people are more likely to express preferences for income redistribution when trust in government in their residential area is high; (2) people are more likely to perceive their tax burden as low when trust in government in their residential area is high; and (3) when the sample is divided into high-and low-income earners, these results are only clearly observed for high-income earners and not low-income earners.JEL classification: D30; D63, H20, Z13

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Trust and Taxpaying: Testing the Heuristic Approach to Collective Action

Cited by 567 publications

References 23 publications

Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes

Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes

Trusting the State, Trusting Each Other? The Effect of Institutional Trust on Social Trust

Trust in government and its effect on preferences for income redistribution and perceived tax burden

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