Heard it through the grapevine: The direct and network effects of a tax enforcement field experiment on firms

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Public Economics
Year: 2020
Volume: 190
Issue: C

Authors (4)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Tax enforcement may have deterrent effects that extend beyond directly treated taxpayers, but evidence of such deterrent effects for major sources of revenue is limited. This paper studies the effects of a large-scale field experiment on employer deposits that make up most U.S. tax collections. In-person visits by Revenue Officers have a large direct effect on visited firms' tax deposits. The other clients of visited firms' tax preparers also deposit more tax, a network effect that suggests preparers disseminate information. Aggregating over all links, this network effect accounts for 1.2 times as much revenue as the direct effect. Letters conveying the same message are found to have much smaller direct effects and no measurable network effects.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:pubeco:v:190:y:2020:i:c:s0047272720301250
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-24