Public Disclosure and Corporate Tax Compliance in Brazil

Last registered on October 03, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Public Disclosure and Corporate Tax Compliance in Brazil
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016909
Initial registration date
September 29, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 03, 2025, 10:20 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Natalia Rodrigues
Affiliation
Fundação Getulio Vargas
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-11-03
End date
2026-04-30
Keywords
Behavior, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
social norms, shaming, moral disengagement
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Several measures have been used by tax authorities to increase tax compliance, such as prosecutions, audits and shaming. Yet most studies about shaming find ambiguous results and take place in developed countries. Considering that the relationship between social norms and tax compliance is different in developing countries, I aim to investigate what type of messages help increase voluntary tax compliance in Brazil. The research design consists of a RCT to test if the collection of tax debts is affected by public disclosure of delinquent taxpayers (non-pecuniary measure) and asset expropriation (pecuniary measure), and how firm behavior differs between firms with different sizes (large x small) and performances (high x low). I will randomly send letters to delinquent firms and then measure the effect on subsequent payment rates.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Rodrigues, Natalia. 2025. "Public Disclosure and Corporate Tax Compliance in Brazil." AEA RCT Registry. October 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16909-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-11-03
Intervention End Date
2026-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Payment or negotiation of outstanding tax debts
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The research design consists of a RCT to test if the collection of tax debts is affected by information about delinquent taxpayers (shaming) and government spending (fiscal exchange). I will randomly send letters to delinquent firms and then measure the effect of information on subsequent payment or negotiation rates. The treatment arms are: letter with threat of public disclosure (non-pecuniary measure) and letter with threat of asset expropriation (pecuniary measure). One control group will not receive any letter and the other control group will receive a simple reminder letter.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Computer
Randomization Unit
Firms
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4 clusters: large x small firms; high x low performing firms
Sample size: planned number of observations
50,000 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The sample consists of 50,000 firms divided into four treatment arms. 5,000 firms will receive no letter (control group), 5,000 will receive a simple reminder letter, 20,000 will receive an asset expropriation letter, and 20,000 will receive a public disclosure letter. For the asset expropriation and public disclosure arms, firms are further divided into four clusters based on a 2x2 design: firm size (large vs. small) and performance (high vs. low).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
COMITÊ DE CONFORMIDADE ÉTICA EM PESQUISAS ENVOLVENDO SERES HUMANOS
IRB Approval Date
2025-01-13
IRB Approval Number
P.185.2023
Analysis Plan