NOVAFRICA Working Paper: Tax morale, public goods, and politics: Experimental evidence from Mozambique

A new working paper has been added to the NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series! Written by Wayne Sandholtz and Pedro Vicente, this paper examines how public goods information and political autonomy influence tax morale and electoral support in Mozambique.

The study provides valuable insights into the relationship between communication strategies, public trust, and political dynamics, contributing to the ongoing discussion on how governments can boost tax revenues while maintaining political support.

Title:

Tax morale, public goods, and politics: Experimental evidence from Mozambique

Wayne Aaron Sandholtz

Nova SBE, CESifo, IZA, and NOVAFRICA

Pedro C. Vicente

Nova SBE, BREAD, CEPR, and NOVAFRICA

Abstract:

Tax revenue is vital for development, but governments must balance raising revenues with maintaining political support. Partnering with a city government in Mozambique, we experimentally vary the provision of information highlighting the role of municipal tax revenues in 1) local public good provision and 2) local political autonomy. We measure how this information affects property owners’ tax morale and political support for the government. Public goods information raises tax morale, especially in areas of low baseline public good provision, but has no effect on voting. The political message increases electoral support generally, but raises tax morale only among co-partisans. These results suggest that communication about the uses of public revenue offers a politically feasible way to increase tax morale.

You can read more about this Working Paper here.

And here you can see all the NOVAFRICA Working Paper series.