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Sanitation and property tax compliance: Analyzing the social contract in Brazil

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  • Kresch, Evan Plous
  • Walker, Mark
  • Best, Michael Carlos
  • Gerard, François
  • Naritomi, Joana

Abstract

This paper investigates the role that sanitation plays in upholding the social contract, whereby citizens pay taxes in exchange for governments providing goods and services. We study the case of Manaus, Brazil, where sewer connections vary considerably across the city and property taxes are calculated in a presumptive manner that does not account for a household’s access to sanitation. We find that households with access to the city sewer system are significantly more likely to pay their property tax, relative to households that only have access to latrines or lack access to improved sanitation entirely. Our evidence is consistent with a role for the social contract in this decision, as households with sewer systems are more likely to have positive attitudes towards the municipal government.

Suggested Citation

  • Kresch, Evan Plous & Walker, Mark & Best, Michael Carlos & Gerard, François & Naritomi, Joana, 2023. "Sanitation and property tax compliance: Analyzing the social contract in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:160:y:2023:i:c:s0304387822001006
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102954
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    Cited by:

    1. Matias Giaccobasso & Brad C. Nathan & Ricardo Perez-Truglia & Alejandro Zentner, 2022. "Where Do My Tax Dollars Go? Tax Morale Effects of Perceived Government Spending," NBER Working Papers 29789, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Junpeng Li & Puneet Vatsa & Wanglin Ma, 2024. "Flush toilet use and its impact on health and non‐health expenditures," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(4), pages 2022-2046, May.
    3. Iddrisu, Khadijah & Adu, Kofi Osei, 2020. "Property Tax Compliance in Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District in the Central Region of Ghana: Does Distance to Nearest Tax Office Matter?," MPRA Paper 121159, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2024.
    4. Anne Brockmeyer & Francisco Garfias & Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato, 2024. "The Fiscal Contract up Close: Experimental Evidence from Mexico City," CESifo Working Paper Series 11270, CESifo.
    5. Víctor Mauricio Castañeda-Rodríguez & Gaetano Lisi, 2024. "Can public efficiency increase tax morale? Evidence from 18 Latin American countries," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 209-231, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sanitation; Property tax; Social contract; Tax compliance; Brazil;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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