IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/121298.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Public disclosure and tax compliance: evidence from Uganda

Author

Listed:
  • Manwaring, Priya
  • Regan, Tanner Weldon Dean

Abstract

Public disclosure policies have potential to raise tax compliance where alternative enforcement capacity is limited. We study the effects of reporting delinquents and recognizing compliers and provide evidence on the social determinants of tax compliance. Our results are consistent with a model in which being publicly known as tax-eligible is costly but social sanctions for delinquency are limited. Further, disseminating information on tax behavior reduces the compliance of recipients by causing their beliefs to be updated down toward the true compliance rate. Overall, these policies are limited at raising revenue and less effective than simple enforcement reminder nudges.

Suggested Citation

  • Manwaring, Priya & Regan, Tanner Weldon Dean, 2023. "Public disclosure and tax compliance: evidence from Uganda," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121298, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121298
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/121298/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amihai Glazer & Kai A. Konrad, 2008. "A Signaling Explanation for Charity," Springer Books, in: Roger D. Congleton & Kai A. Konrad & Arye L. Hillman (ed.), 40 Years of Research on Rent Seeking 2, pages 713-722, Springer.
    2. Reck, Daniel & Slemrod, Joel & Vattø, Trine Engh, 2022. "Public disclosure of tax information: Compliance tool or social network?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    3. Lucia Del Carpio & Samuel Kapon & Sylvain Chassang, 2022. "Using Divide-and-Conquer to Improve Tax Collection: Evidence from the Field," Working Papers 301, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    4. Sylvain Chassang & Lucia Del Carpio & Samuel Kapon, 2022. "Using Divide and Conquer to Improve Tax Collection: Theory and Laboratory Evidence," Working Papers 299, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    5. James Alm & Kim M. Bloomquist & Michael McKee, 2017. "When You Know Your Neighbour Pays Taxes: Information, Peer Effects and Tax Compliance," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 38, pages 587-613, December.
    6. Timothy Besley & Torsten Persson, 2014. "Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(4), pages 99-120, Fall.
    7. Samuel Kapon & Lucia Del Carpio & Sylvain Chassang, 2022. "Using Divide-and-Conquer to Improve Tax Collection," NBER Working Papers 30218, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Matthew S. Johnson, 2020. "Regulation by Shaming: Deterrence Effects of Publicizing Violations of Workplace Safety and Health Laws," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(6), pages 1866-1904, June.
    9. Jonathan L Weigel, 2020. "The Participation Dividend of Taxation: How Citizens in Congo Engage More with the State When it Tries to Tax Them," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 1849-1903.
    10. Nadja Dwenger & Henrik Kleven & Imran Rasul & Johannes Rincke, 2016. "Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations for Tax Compliance: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Germany," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 203-232, August.
    11. Pablo Balán & Augustin Bergeron & Gabriel Tourek & Jonathan L. Weigel, 2022. "Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(3), pages 762-797, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Priya Manwaring & Tanner Regan, 2023. "Public Disclosure and Tax Compliance: Evidence from Uganda," CSAE Working Paper Series 2023-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    2. Sylvain Chassang & Lucia Del Carpio & Samuel Kapon, 2020. "Making the Most of Limited Government Capacity: Theory and Experiment," Working Papers 2020-7, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    3. Sylvain Chassang & Lucia Del Carpio & Samuel Kapon, 2022. "Using Divide and Conquer to Improve Tax Collection: Theory and Laboratory Evidence," Working Papers 299, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    4. Lucia Del Carpio & Samuel Kapon & Sylvain Chassang, 2022. "Using Divide-and-Conquer to Improve Tax Collection: Evidence from the Field," Working Papers 301, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    5. 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.
    6. Nathalie Etchart-vincent & Marisa Ratto & Emmanuelle Taugourdeau, 2024. "Why should I comply with taxes if others don't?: an experimental study testing informational effects," Working Papers hal-04635966, HAL.
    7. Antoine Zerbini & Federica Braccioli & Amedeo Piolatto, 2024. "The Taxing Challenges of the State: Unveiling the Role of Fiscal & Administrative Capacity in Development," Working Papers 1432, Barcelona School of Economics.
    8. Jonathan L. Weigel & Elie Kabue Ngindu, 2023. "The taxman cometh: Pathways out of a low‐capacity trap in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(360), pages 1362-1396, October.
    9. Augustin Bergeron & Gabriel Tourek & Jonathan L. Weigel, 2024. "The State Capacity Ceiling on Tax Rates: Evidence From Randomized Tax Abatements in the DRC," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 92(4), pages 1163-1193, July.
    10. Riedel, Nadine & Strohmaier, Kristina & Lediga, Collen, 2019. "Spatial Tax Enforcement Spillovers: Evidence from South Africa," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203500, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Alessandro Belmonte & Desiree Teobaldelli & Davide Ticchi, 2024. "Expected foreign military intervention and demand for state-building: evidence from Mali," Working Papers 493, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    12. Miloš Fišar & Tommaso Reggiani & Fabio Sabatini & Jiří Špalek, 2022. "Media negativity bias and tax compliance: experimental evidence," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(5), pages 1160-1212, October.
    13. Fabio Lamantia & Mario Pezzino & Fabio Tramontana, 2017. "Tax Evasion, Intrinsic Motivation, and the Evolutionary Effects of Tax Reforms," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1707, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    14. Tanner Regan & Martina Manara, 2022. "Ask a local: Improving the public pricing of land titles in urban Tanzania," Working Papers 2022-07, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    15. Miloš Fišar & Tommaso Reggiani & Fabio Sabatini & Jiří Špalek, 2020. "Media Bias and Tax Compliance: Experimental Evidence," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2020-01, Masaryk University, revised Feb 2023.
    16. Hallsworth, Michael & List, John A. & Metcalfe, Robert D. & Vlaev, Ivo, 2017. "The behavioralist as tax collector: Using natural field experiments to enhance tax compliance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 14-31.
    17. Joel Slemrod & Obeid Ur Rehman & Mazhar Waseem, 2019. "Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Motivations for Tax Compliance: Evidence from Pakistan," NBER Working Papers 25623, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. James A Robinson, 2023. "Tax Aversion and the Social Contract in Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 33-56.
    19. Leopoldo Fergusson & Carlos A. Molina & James A. Robinson, 2022. "The Weak State Trap," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(354), pages 293-331, April.
    20. Friedrichsen, Jana, 2018. "Signals Sell: Product Lines when Consumers Differ Both in Taste for Quality and Image Concern," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 70, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    property tax; tax morale; public disclosure; shaming;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121298. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.