Information, belief elicitation and threshold effects in the 5X1000 tax scheme: a framed field experiment
Title | Information, belief elicitation and threshold effects in the 5X1000 tax scheme: a framed field experiment |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2017 |
Authors | Becchetti, L, Pelligra, V, Reggiani, T |
Journal | International Tax and Public Finance |
Volume | 24 |
Issue | 6 |
Pagination | 1026–1049 |
Abstract | In this paper, we study by means of a framed field experiment on a representative sample of the population the effect on people’s charitable giving of three, substantial and procedural, elements: information provision, belief elicitation and threshold on distribution. We frame this investigation within the 5X1000 tax scheme, a mechanism through which Italian taxpayers may choose to give a small proportion (0.5%) of their income tax to a voluntary organization to fund its activities. We find two main results: (i) providing information or eliciting beliefs about previous donations increases the likelihood of a donation, while thresholds have no effect; (ii) information about previous funding increases donations to organizations that received fewer donations in the past, while belief elicitation also increases donations to organizations that received most donations in the past, since individuals are more likely to donate to the organizations they rank first. |
URL | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10797-017-9474-z |
DOI | 10.1007/s10797-017-9474-z |
Keywords | Charitable giving, Framed field experiment, Inequity aversion, Social information effect |