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on Informal and Underground Economics |
| By: | James Alm (Department of Economics, Tulane University) |
| Keywords: | tax evasion, behavioral economics, experimental economics |
| JEL: | H2 H26 D03 C9 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1509&r=all |
| By: | James Alm (Department of Economics, Tulane University); Kim M. Bloomquist (Office of Research, U.S. Internal Revenue Service); Michael McKee (Department of Economics, Appalachian State University) |
| Abstract: | An essential issue for laboratory experiments to inform policy debates is the "external validity" of the experimental results; that is, does behavior in the laboratory apply to behavior that occurs in the naturally occurring world? We examine this issue of external validity in the specific context of laboratory experiments on tax compliance, using two different types of evidence. We find that the behavioral patterns of subjects in the laboratory conform to that of individuals making a similar decision in naturally occurring settings. We also find that the behavioral responses of students are largely the same as non-students in identical experiments. |
| Keywords: | marriage, experimental methods, external validity, tax compliance |
| JEL: | H2 H26 C9 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1512&r=all |
| By: | James Alm (Department of Economics, Tulane University); Jeremy Clark (Department of Economics and Finance, University of Canterbury); Kara Leibel (Office of Research, Internal Revenue Service) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the determinants of tax filing compliance in the United States. We use county-level data on non-filing rates for the tax year 2000, obtained directly from the Internal Revenue Service. We include explanatory variables identified in the "rational compliance" framework, including an enforcement index against identified non-filers, the audit rate of filers, and the average penalty rate for both filers and non-filers. We also examine the role of socio-economic diversity on tax compliance, testing whether within-county heterogeneity in household income, language, race, and religion can help explain variation in non-filing rates. We find that non-filing is increasing with heterogeneity by race, though not by income or language, and that non-filing is decreasing with heterogeneity by religious membership. As for enforcement variables, we find that non-filing rates tend to fall with the enforcement index. Other variables have somewhat mixed results. |
| Keywords: | tax evasion, social capital, diversity |
| JEL: | H2 H26 H31 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1514&r=all |
| By: | Ana Luiza Neves de Holanda Barbosa (IPC-IG); Carlos Henrique L. Corseuil (IPC-IG) |
| Keywords: | Bolsa Família, Occupational Choice, Informality, Brazil |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:oparab:226&r=all |
| By: | Callen, Michael (Harvard University); De Mel, Suresh (University of Peradeniya); McIntosh, Craig (University of CA, San Diego); Woodruff, Christopher (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | When households increase their deposits in formal bank savings accounts, what is the source of the money? We combine high-frequency surveys with an experiment in which a Sri Lankan bank used mobile Point-of-Service (POS) terminals to collect deposits directly from households each week. In this context, the headwaters of formal savings are to be found in sacrificed leisure time: households work more, and work more on the wage market when savings options improve. These results suggest that the labor allocation channel is an important mechanism linking savings opportunities to income. |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp15-011&r=all |
| By: | Ana Luiza Neves de Holanda Barbosa (IPC-IG); Carlos Henrique L. Corseuil (IPC-IG) |
| Keywords: | Bolsa Familia, Elección Ocupacional, Informalidad, Brasil |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opespa:226&r=all |
| By: | Ana Luiza Neves de Holanda Barbosa (IPC-IG); Carlos Henrique L. Corseuil (IPC-IG) |
| Keywords: | Bolsa Família, choix professionnels, informalité, Brésil |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opfran:226&r=all |