Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/35283 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 3536
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
While there is an extensive literature on tax evasion a further aspect of cheating on the state, namely benefit fraud, has gained relatively modest attention in the economic literature. This paper seeks to fill this gap. We explore differences between benefit fraud and tax evasion due to differing social norms. We define the concepts of benefit morale and tax morale as the motivation to abstain from cheating on the state via these two offenses. Our multilevel analysis, based on a large micro data set of respondents from 29 OECD member countries, shows that benefit morale and tax morale have different determinants at an individual-level and respond differently to fiscal policy measures.
Subjects: 
Tax
subsidies
tax evasion
benefit fraud
welfare fraud
tax morale
benefit morale
social norms
multilevel analysis
JEL: 
H20
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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