Behavioral engagement and fiscal incentive design: time series evidence from southern Brazil

Jorge Luis Tonetto, Adelar Fochezatto, Josep Miquel Pique and Carina Rapetti

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, implemented four behavioral experiments aimed at improving tax compliance. This study contributes to the literature by examining multiple behavioral tax programs over an extended period, providing a longitudinal assessment of citizen engagement. It highlights changes in citizen engagement in the Tax Education Program and their possible causes, focusing on the evolution of new subscribers over time and their relationship with the implementation of innovative projects. We estimate time-series regression models for new subscribers between November 2012 and May 2023, including specifications with and without structural breaks. The results show three moments of high impact on subscriber numbers. The key moment corresponds to the launch of Devolve-ICMS and Receita Certa, with a 635% increase in new subscribers. Inflation showed a small negative impact. Reductions in prize amounts and low-value incentives negatively affected engagement. Programs that provided direct and visible financial returns to citizens—reinforcing perceptions of fairness and reciprocity in the tax system—showed particularly strong effects on engagement. The findings suggest that tax innovations were successful in increasing citizen engagement and, consequently, reducing tax evasion.

Keywords: Behavioral economics; Tax compliance; Technological Change; Time series analysis; Public policy; Brazil JEL Codes: D91, H26, O33, C22, H11, O54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C22 D91 H11 H26 O33 O54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-25
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-iue
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/128174/1/MPRA_paper_128174.pdf original version (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:128174

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany Ludwigstraße 33, D-80539 Munich, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Joachim Winter ().