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α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
We study whether nudging can improve payment morale for taxes and dues when enforcement through public institutions is low because of social reasons. In a natural field experiment involving the parents of children who attend lessons in a municipal music school, we find that nudging parents with appeals to children’s education improves the punctual payment of dues by about five percentage points, which is considerable given a base rate of only 48%. The effect persists even when the nudge is removed half a year later.