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dc.titlePerceptions of Corruption and Preferences for Redistributive Policies: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Latin America
dc.contributor.authorBusso, Matías
dc.contributor.authorMessina, Julián
dc.contributor.authorQuigua, Juliana
dc.contributor.orgunitDepartment of Research and Chief Economist
dc.coverageLatin America
dc.coverageThe Caribbean
dc.date.available2026-07-21T00:07:00
dc.date.issue2026-07-21T00:07:00
dc.description.abstractThis study examines whether information about corruption and tax evasion changes perceived unfairness in the income distribution, perceived inequality of opportunity, and support for specific redistributive policies. Using a survey experiment administered in eight Latin American countries, we find that factual information about public corruption and elite tax evasion increases perceptions of unfairness and unequal opportunity. It also increases support for taxing rich households relative to middle-class households. However, these effects do not extend to broader tax-financed redistribution: respondents do not become more supportive of raising corporate taxes, broadening the personal income tax, or increasing the VAT to finance social spending, nor do they become more supportive of expanding conditional cash transfers or non-contributory pensions through higher taxes. The results are consistent with trust limiting the translation of inequality concerns into support for broader tax-financed redistribution: the treatments increased perceived elite influence over government policy and reduced some measures of trust in public officials and firms.
dc.format.extent55
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0014410
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Perceptions-of-Corruption-and-Preferences-for-Redistributive-Policies-Evidence-from-a-Survey-Experiment-in-Latin-America.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectTaxation
dc.subjectEquality of Opportunity
dc.subjectSmall Business
dc.subjectTransparency and Anticorruption
dc.subjectTax Evasion
dc.subjectEquality
dc.subjectTrust
dc.subjectIncome Distribution
dc.subjectHousehold Survey
dc.subjectPolitical Trust
dc.subjectValue-Added Tax
dc.subject.jelcodeD31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions
dc.subject.jelcodeH21 - Efficiency • Optimal Taxation
dc.subject.jelcodeH26 - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
dc.subject.jelcodeD73 - Bureaucracy • Administrative Processes in Public Organizations • Corruption
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberIDB-WP-01796
idb.operationRG-K1415
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