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Education and tax morale

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  • Rodriguez-Justicia, David
  • Theilen, Bernd

Abstract

While the determinants of tax morale have been widely studied in the literature, surprisingly, the fundamental influence of education on tax morale has yet to be investigated. Given the insights from the psychological and political science literature about the role of education in the formation of social values, in this paper, we analyze two channels through which education shapes tax morale. We find that education has a positive impact on tax morale for those individuals that are net beneficiaries of the welfare state, and a negative impact for those that are net contributors. Furthermore, our results indicate that the more highly educated because of their better knowledge on public affairs exhibit higher levels of tax morale in countries that have better quality public services, a fairer tax system and higher quality institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodriguez-Justicia, David & Theilen, Bernd, 2018. "Education and tax morale," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 18-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:64:y:2018:i:c:p:18-48
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2017.10.001
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    3. Engel, Christoph & Mittone, Luigi & Morreale, Azzurra, 2020. "Tax morale and fairness in conflict an experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    4. David Rodriguez-Justicia & Bernd Theilen, 2022. "Immigration and tax morale: the role of perceptions and prejudices," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1801-1832, April.
    5. David Rodriguez-Justicia & Bernd Theilen, 2023. "Ideological alignment, public sector size and tax morale: empirical evidence from OECD economies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Lory Barile & Giulio Grossi & Patrizia Lattarulo & Maria Grazia Pazienza, 2024. "Earmarking Taxation and Compliance: Some Evidence from Car Ownership in Italy," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, September.
    7. YoungRok Kim & Hongyu Wan, 2022. "The effect of fairness on tax morale in South Korea: a framed question approach," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(1), pages 103-123, March.
    8. Engel, Christoph & Zamir, Eyal, 2024. "Is transparency a blessing or a curse? An experimental horse race between accountability and extortionary corruption," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Muhammad Sohail Akhtar & Muhammad Zubair Chishti & Ahmer Bilal, 2023. "Incumbency and tax compliance: evidence from Pakistan," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 1-26, March.
    10. V.A. Molodykh, 2021. "Impact of Short-Term Exogenous Shocks on Taxpayer Behavior and Tax Evasion," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 20(2), pages 241-268.
    11. Konte, Maty & Ndubuisi, Gideon, 2022. "Remittance dependence, support for taxation and quality of public services in Africa," MERIT Working Papers 2022-019, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    12. Sipos, Norbert & Lukovszki, Lívia & Rideg, András & Vörös, Zsófia, 2023. "Az adócsalási hajlandóság empirikus vizsgálata [Willingness to evade tax in Hungary: an empirical analysis]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(2), pages 192-212.
    13. ten Kate, Fabian & Klasing, Mariko J. & Milionis, Petros, 2023. "Societal diversity, group identities and their implications for tax morale," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 1048-1067.
    14. Alexander, Phyllis & Balavac-Orlic, Merima, 2022. "Tax morale: Framing and fairness," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(1).
    15. Indah Masri & Tryas Chasbiandani & Diandra Kamila Rasyid & Nur’Aini Nur’Aini, 2024. "Reciprocal Relationship between Taxpayer’s Compliance and Governance Quality," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 131-137, July.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax morale; Tax compliance; Education; Welfare state benefits; Trust in public institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development

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