Are Some Countries More Honest than Others? Evidence from a Tax Compliance Experiment in Sweden and Italy.
This study examines cultural differences in ordinary dishonesty between Italy and Sweden, two countries with different reputations for trustworthiness and probity. Exploiting a set of cross-cultural tax compliance experiments, we find that the average level of tax evasion (as a measure of ordinary dishonesty) does not differ significantly between Swedes and Italians. However, we also uncover differences in national "styles" of dishonesty. Specifically, while Swedes are more likely to be either completely honest or completely dishonest in their fiscal declarations, Italians are more prone to fudging (i.e., cheating by a small amount). We discuss the implications of these findings for the evolution and enforcement of honesty norms.
Robert Schumann Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, San Domenico di FiesoleFiesole, Italy; National Council for Research, Institute of Cognitive Science and TechnologiesRome, Italy.
Giulia
G
Andrighetto
Department of Social and Political Sciences, European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole Fiesole, Italy.
Nan
N
Zhang
Department of Economics, Management and Statistics, University of Milano-Bicocca Milano, Italy.
Stefania
S
Ottone
Department of Law, Politics, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont Alessandria, Italy.
Ferruccio
F
Ponzano
Robert Schumann Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole Fiesole, Italy.
John
J
D'Attoma
Robert Schumann Center for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, San Domenico di FiesoleFiesole, Italy; Department of Political Science, University of ColoradoBoulder, CO, USA.
Sven
S
Steinmo
cross-country comparison; fudging; ordinary dishonest behavior; social norms; tax compliance