Tax Morale after the Reunification of Germany: Results from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

Arbeitspapier

This paper provides a comparison of tax morale between inhabitants of East and West Germany in its post-reunification period, using three World Values Survey/European Values Survey waves between 1990 and 1999. The setting of German reunification is particularly interesting for the analysis of tax morale as it is close to a natural experiment. Many factors can be controlled because they are similar, as, e.g., a common language, similar education systems and a shared cultural and political history prior to the separation after the Second World War. As a consequence, an East-West comparison has a methodological advantage compared to cross-country studies. Our findings show higher tax morale in East than in West Germany. However, in only 9 years after reunification, tax morale values strongly converged, especially due to a strong change in the level of tax morale in the East.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CREMA Working Paper ; No. 2007-03

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Tax Evasion and Avoidance ; State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations: Interjurisdictional Differentials and Their Effects ; Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation ; Field Experiments
• Subject: Tax Morale ; Tax Evasion ; Deterrence ; Quasi-Natural Experiment

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Feld, Lars P. ; Torgler, Benno
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA)
• (where): Basel
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/214377
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET