The Mechanism, Extent and Effects of Fiscal Illusion Among UK Taxpayers

Last registered on April 09, 2018

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The Mechanism, Extent and Effects of Fiscal Illusion Among UK Taxpayers

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0002796

Initial registration date

March 20, 2018

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

March 21, 2018, 5:52 PM EDT

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

Last updated

April 09, 2018, 6:56 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Kaetana Leontjeva-Numaviciene

Affiliation

King's College London

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2018-03-20

End date

2019-12-31

Keywords

Governance

Additional Keywords

Fiscal policy, taxation, tax preferences, tax attitudes, public spending, fiscal illusion

JEL code(s)

E62, H24, H50

Secondary IDs

Abstract

Fiscal illusion theory suggests that taxpayers may be unaware of their taxes and how their taxes are spent. Empirical research on the hypotheses of fiscal illusion has been inconclusive, while taxpayers’ perception studies have reported widespread tax misperception, with both over and underestimation of taxes observed.

Proposed web survey-based experiment seeks to investigate the mechanism of fiscal illusion, collect data on UK taxpayers tax attitudes and perception, and examine how the provision of tax and public spending information these attitudes and preferences.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Leontjeva-Numaviciene, Kaetana. 2018. "The Mechanism, Extent and Effects of Fiscal Illusion Among UK Taxpayers." AEA RCT Registry. April 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2796-2.0

Former Citation

Leontjeva-Numaviciene, Kaetana. 2018. "The Mechanism, Extent and Effects of Fiscal Illusion Among UK Taxpayers." AEA RCT Registry. April 09. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2796/history/27781

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2018-03-27

Intervention End Date

2019-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

The primary outcomes are respondents' responses to survey questions on their fiscal policy attitudes and preferences.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Alienation

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Alienation is constructed from a response to a question 'Does voting in the General Election make a difference?', with respondents answering 'No' considered to experience feelings of alienation.

Experimental Design

The experiment will consist of two groups, a control and a treatment group. The control group will be asked to answer questions on their fiscal policy attitudes and preferences. The treatment group with be presented with information on taxes and public spending in the UK, and would then be asked to answer identical questions.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

The company collecting data, Survey Sampling Internation, LLC, employs a multi-stage randomization process involving random selection of participants from SSI's panel invited to take part in a survey, and randomized allocation to a particular survey.

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?