How does the progressivity of taxes and government transfers impact people’s willingness to pay tax?

Last registered on January 21, 2022
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
How does the progressivity of taxes and government transfers impact people’s willingness to pay tax?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008847
Initial registration date
January 20, 2022

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
January 21, 2022, 2:14 PM EST

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

Locations

Country
Colombia
Region
Country
Ghana
Region
Country
Indonesia
Region
Country
Jordan
Region
Country
Sri Lanka
Region
Country
Mexico
Region
Country
Tanzania, United Republic of
Region
Country
South Africa
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Christopher Hoy
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-01-24
End date
2022-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Governance
Additional Keywords
Redistribution, Tax compliance, Randomized Experiment, Political Economy
JEL code(s)
D31, D91, H22, H23, H24, H26
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study will examine how the progressivity of taxes and government transfers impacts people’s willingness to pay tax through a large-scale randomized survey experiment across eight developing countries (Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Tanzania). Respondents will be randomly allocated to either receive information about the progressivity of taxes and/or government transfers in their country or to receive no information. The treatments are based on a recently released, cross-country database that measures the Sustainable Development Goal target to improve the redistributive impact of fiscal policy. The impact of these treatments on people’s willingness to pay tax will be measured using standardized questions from the existing literature. By examining heterogenous treatment effects based on people’s prior beliefs and preferences as well as differences across countries it will be possible to identify how equity and reciprocity considerations influence people’s willingness to pay tax.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hoy, Christopher. 2022. "How does the progressivity of taxes and government transfers impact people’s willingness to pay tax?." AEA RCT Registry. January 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8847-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Details about the intervention are outlined in the pre-analysis plan, which is attached to this registration.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-01-24
Intervention End Date
2022-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Details about the outcome variables are outlined in the pre-analysis plan, which is attached to this registration.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will conduct a randomized survey experiment to understand how the progressivity of taxes and government transfers impact people’s willingness to pay tax. Respondents will be randomly allocated to either receive information about the progressivity of taxes, government transfers or both.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is programmed using the survey software.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
The sample size in each of the eight countries is 3600 respondents who fully complete the survey. In total, this equates to 28,800 respondents.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
900 respondents per treatment arm in each country.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Details about the power calculations are outlined in the pre-analysis plan, which is attached to this registration.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Australian National University Human Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2022-01-20
IRB Approval Number
Protocol 2021/792
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-analysis plan

MD5: e22eda0d547a2a8cd60ecd965fcb986e

SHA1: f75d6ef2ba31aa713dcfc335db6f07ab643617b7

Uploaded At: January 20, 2022

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials