Does Culture Matter? Tax Morale in an East-West-German Comparison

This paper provides a comparison of tax morale between inhabitants of East and West Germany after its post-reunification period, using World Value Survey data for the years 1990 and 1997. The setting of the German reunification is particularly interesting for the analysis of tax morale in that it is close to being a natural experiment. For the years 1990 and 1997 our findings show higher tax morale in East Germany than in West Germany. However, tax morale in the east seems to erode over time. Around three-quarters of the east-west differential disappeared in just seven years. Adherence to social norms as practiced in the GDR provides a key explanation of why tax morale is higher in the East.